Observation Point

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

Thomas Jefferson, quoted by Dr. Ben Carson in America the Beautiful

Reforming Air Traffic Control

Millions of passengers had personal experience this week with the FAA making the air traffic control (ATC) system a political football. Delays piled on delays at major hubs as  Obama tried to make the general public hurt because of a slight decrease in the growth of the Federal budget. The Wall Street Journal makes an eminently sensible proposal in light of this political nonsense - privatize it like 50 other countries have done, ending the political shenanigans and increasing the technology and professionalism of a vital service. Good idea.

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323789704578444793863984384.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Canada went private in 1996 and it has worked well. Nav Canada is a non-profit corporation supported by user fees from the airlines. They have upgraded their equipment and provided a first rate ATC system in Canada. 49 other countries around the world have also gone private including Germany, France and Australia. A private organization is paid by its users to do its job efficiently and well. Political entities exist to play politics, especially when the head guy views anything and everything as a political tool.

www.navcanada.ca/NavCanada.asp?Language=en&Content=ContentDefinitionFiles%5CNewsroom%5CBackgrounders%5Cairtrafficservices.xml

Another reason for going private is the chronic inability of the FAA to bring new technology on line. The U.S. ATC system is using technology from the 1950s and early 60s that has been falling further and further behind in its ability to keep up with the modern volume of flights and passengers. New systems are available but it takes organizational ability to smoothly manage the transition and that is something the FAA simply has not demonstrated. Case in point, the agency has been trying for 20+ years to implement a next gen ATC system. It is now a decade late and billions of dollars over budget and still there are no reasonable prospects that it will arrive any time soon. Right now 2025 is the earliest projected date even as new jets are entering service with the airlines now that are fully capable of using the new technology.

www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/problems-plague-faas-nextgen-air-traffic/231900067

The U.S. continues to be a Johnny-come-lately in moving toward Big Government when  Canada and European countries are moving away in key areas because they saw the inefficiencies. Air safety is too important an area to be left to political hacks. It's time to start moving toward a private system whose sole goal is the safe and efficient movement of passengers and planes in America's skies. 

Y'all Come! Heah!

Does it bother you that the U.S. government is distributing flyers in Mexico City that you don't have to disclose your immigration status to get food stamps in the U.S.? Hint, hint, wink, wink. Combined with our non-existent border security policy it would seem that the message is: "Y'all come - we'll keep the light on for ya!" Oh yeah,  and Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech that immigration to the U.S. is a "civil right." Wake up America - c'mon, wake up!"

www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/18/dems-preserve-us-mexico-food-stamp-partnership-while-usda-prepares-for-meat/

Can You Walk the Walk?

President Obama announced some time ago that there is a "red line" in Syria against the use of chemical/biological weapons that would trigger American action. Both Secretary of Defense Hagel and the head of Israeli intelligence announced this week that chemical weapons had in fact been used against Syrian civilians, specifically Sarin which is a nerve agent. Service to you Mr. Obama. Waiting. Still waiting. 

townhall.com/columnists/carolineglick/2013/04/27/time-to-confront-obama-n1579944

Government by Tantrum

The Senate voted yesterday that the FAA has discretion to manage where cuts to its budget can occur. As if there was ever any doubt. Welcome to government-by-tantrum Obama style! That's right folks, if we the people have the temerity to mess with the Federal budget via our elected representatives, then BO and his minions will make sure that we feel pain. Never mind that the current FAA budget even with the sequester is larger than last year's allocation. Never mind that management could have made selective cuts among non-critical personnel and no cuts among controllers. But N-O-O-O, hit 'em where it hurts so they'll keep their mitts off our dollars and shut the heck up! Heckuva way to run a government that is supposed to be by and for the people. 

(Tip o' the hat to Steve Green, PJTV)

Who is Running This Show?

Speaking of dim bulbs, it looks like the Boston Massacre investigation is running about as expected. Undoubtedly Attorney General Eric Holder is personally in charge of this operation. Let's see what we know:

• Big brother was a jihadist.
• He was consorting with known Islamic terrorists in Dagestan and the Russians sent the U.S. several notices to this effect.
• He had undergone some severe changes in behavior to a much more radical jihadist perspective and was openly proclaiming this on the web. 
• DHS knew that he went to Russia for 6 months but then lost him and didn't tell the FBI.
• The CIA put him on a terror watch list because of the Russian warnings, but apparently neither DHS or the FBI bothered to follow up or maybe even notice this at all. 
• The brothers built a series of bombs and stockpiled a lot of ammunition, which would seem to indicate that this wasn't a spontaneous lark. 
• Their mother comes to this country and ends her public statement with "Allahu Akbar."
• The surviving brother gets Mirandized so he shuts up and we learn nothing further from him. 

And the Obama Administration concludes that this isn't Islamic terrorism. Of course! I mean based on the above facts why would anyone conclude otherwise? 

Anytime America. These guys are going to get a lot of us killed because they insist on living in Wonderland. Wake up - c'mon, wake up America. 

Dim Bulbs

Yesterday I ran a post that Portland-based SoloPower had just gone under with $20M in tax credits from Oregon and a chunk from the Feds. Now Steve Duin from The Oregonian reports that another Oregon solar company is on the ropes with $42M in public funds "invested" by the pols in Salem. That's right, SolarWorld's prospects are darkening rapidly. I can hardly wait to see how much the Feds have in this one. We could pay for a lot of cops, firemen or air traffic controllers with what we are throwing down the drain with companies like these. Green Energy my butt!

www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2013/04/steve_duin_about_those_unforgi.html

Arguing with Liberals

Ann Coulter is something of a bomb-thrower, but she can be very funny.  In discussing what it is like to argue with liberals in a public forum, she said that typically you are bombarded by a host of idiotic comments and then put on the spot by being asked asked to answer something like, "How is an elephant not like a raisin?" Hmm? Be forewarned.

www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/04/24/Slate-Newspapers-will-start-losing-money-if-they-become-conservative

All Are Equal Under the Law

Right. Last year Congress passed a law (STOCK Act) that provided for disclosure (note: not banning) of insider trading by Congress. This week they again wrapped the cloak of invisibility back around such trades. This is totally corrupt behavior and it was bipartisan in its support. President Obama also signed the bill, so he is complicit. 

If we put up with this, shame on us! Congress should live by the same laws that it passes for the rest of us whether insider trading, medical care, retirement plans, whatever. Leaders lead from out front. These weasels are not leading but leaving our country leaderless and sneaking around picking our pockets for their own gain every chance they get. It is no wonder that Congressional approval ratings are bouncing around at 13%. This is well deserved but means nothing unless voters throw the bums out at the next election. Wake up America!

finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/stock-act-gets-gutted-why-care-173159298.html

Another One Bites the Dust

Altogether now to the tune of Another One Bites the Dust ... SoloPower, a Portland-based solar energy company that opened in 2011 with grandiose growth promises bit the big one this week. The Feds "only" pumped $197 million into this turkey. Between Solyndra and this outfit $750 million - that's .75 BILLION - of U.S. taxpayer dollars swirled down the drain. Oregon had some "investment" money in this outfit too by way of a $20 million tax credit. The great stock swindles of the 1800s had nothing on these guys. At least the government at that time prosecuted the swindlers instead of giving them money.

www.kgw.com/news/business/Solar-power-company-suspending-Portland-operations-204321931.html

Boston Update

Again, British papers are ahead of ours. Sigh. The London Daily Mail reports that the Russian FSB asked the FBI only 6 months ago to investigate the older Boston brother because he had been seen 6 times with a known Islamic militant. The FBI never responded. The FBI was clueless in 2001 and it appears it is clueless now. Did it run the brothers' photos after the bombing looking for a match? Undoubtedly there are other terrorist suspects in the Boston area, but it is a relatively small number compared to nationally. I doubt they would have asked the general public for help on identifying the photos if they had a match with the FBI data base. We needed a dedicated counterterrorist agency in 2001 and we would appear to still need it today, 12 years later. 

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2312496/Tamerlan-Tsarnaev-Did-Boston-bomber-meet-known-jihadist-terrorist-Speculation-grows-emerges-Russia-asked-FBI-investigate-Boston-bomber-just-SIX-MONTHS-ago-trip-Dagestan.html#ixzz2R7qDfchC

See Breitbart for updates as they arrive. 

www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/21/live-updates-boston-marathon-investigation

Connecting the Dots

Carol Platt Liebau reports at Townhall that while most of the American media are running hand-wringing coverage about how we may never know why the Boston terrrorists did what they did, the British media are reporting what is really going on.

townhall.com/tipsheet/carolplattliebau/2013/04/21/msm-meltdown-or-simple-misinformation-n1574210

The UK Daily Mirror says that 1000 FBI agents are busy connecting the dots showing that these two were the point of the spear for a 12-person jihadist cell in the Boston area. It is important to ferret out and arrest all the cell members, but it is even more important to find out to whom the cell is linked. I will not be surprised to find an Iranian hand at the controls, but that remains to be seen, if American leadership will tell the truth. It does not raise one's confidence level in this regard when the young Saudi who was hospitalized and designated as a "person of interest" is being deported on national security grounds via Saudi military aircraft and our government is stonewalling as to why. 

www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/boston-bombers-fbi-hunting-12-strong-1844844#.UXONfygRhP8.twitter

The Plot Thickens

The U.S. for the first time is selling Israel KC-135 tankers to refuel its jets. Since it takes about 3 minutes to fly across Israel I am going to hazard a wild guess that these aren't to support domestic air defenses. I wonder what it could mean? Are you listening Iran?

www.timesofisrael.com/reversing-policy-us-will-sell-israel-aerial-refueling-planes/

A Simple Thank You

Watching the footage of the Boston Marathon Massacre, I have been struck that while most of the runners and crowd were understandably running away from the site of the carnage, policemen, firemen, and some civilians (many of them medical professionals) were running into it to help the wounded. Thank you for your courage  Thank you for your nobility. It is what makes this country great.

What Slippery Slope?

"Legalize Polygamy!" That's the headline of a piece in Slate magazine. Okay, let's hear why allowing gay marriage on the bases put forth won't lead to this and who knows what else. But we love each other - why can't I marry my __________*?

* sister, mother, dog, Packy the Pachyderm, bass boat,  etc., etc., etc.
www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/04/legalize_polygamy_marriage_equality_for_all.html

I'm Shocked! No Really.

World Net Daily reported today that frequent texters tend to be shallow. I'm shocked, shocked!

www.wnd.com/

A Final Diss to Mrs. Thatcher

The Obama Administration is not sending any member of his cabinet or a current politician to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's funeral. Former Secretaries of State George Schultz and James Baker will be attending, but to send no present cabinet member as a sign of respect is another poke in the eye to the Brits and the memory of the Iron Lady.  They probably couldn't afford Joe Biden's limousine and hotel bills again.

www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/white-house-sending-no-sitting-us-pols-thatcher-funeral_717938.html

Boston

Now Boston. The Northeast seems to be cursed at the moment: Newtown, hurricanes, etc. First and foremost our prayers and sympathy goes out to the families of those killed and to those injured and maimed at the Boston Marathon Massacre. We wish the families of the dead comfort and solace and a full and speedy recovery to the injured. 

It is too early to say who did this. Whoever it was had some knowledge of terrorist tactics. Having two bombs go off in close proximity and time is designed to inflict maximum casualties. Ditto the timing of the explosions when the majority of non-elite runners were due to cross the finish line. The national and world press were covering the story and they like the human interest shots at or near the finish line, so the location was right too. 

The explosive itself, while causing horrific results, appeared to be something less than  military-grade. One report said that the devices contained ball bearings, though, which would be a terrorist hallmark. 

The media has made much of the fact that it was Patriot Day in Massachusetts honoring the Revolutionary War citizens that rebelled against the Brits and several outlets (CNN, MSNBC - surprise, surprise) went from there to connect the explosions to "right wing groups." Maybe. I think it is more interesting, however, that yesterday was also the anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel. No group has taken credit for the bombings, so we will see where the investigation leads. If the FBI really does have two disabled bombs to work with they should be able to point the finger with some confidence at who was behind this despicable and cowardly act. 

In the meantime, yesterday's events clearly answered the question of whether the U.S. can let down its guard. The answer is a resounding "No!" Whatever the ultimate source of this attack, we are all cursed with those who would do harm to innocents to make their hateful points. Life will not be getting back to normal anytime soon. 

A Giant of the Faith and an American Hero

Our news seems to be saturated with the Lindasy Lohans and Justin Biebers of the world, meanwhile true heroes pass by without notice. Not this one, though, who is being awarded the Medal of Honor. 

Fr. Emil Kapaun was a Catholic Army chaplain serving with line units during the Korean War. When his unit was overrun by the Chinese, he allowed himself to be captured so that he could continue to serve his men. This gives us some idea of the man:


"Kapaun helped aid those wounded in battle with no regard for his own safety, often leaving the perimeter U.S. forces had established to rescue injured soldiers. Kapaun also stayed behind and let himself be captured by the Chinese in order to care for wounded American soldiers.

He also stopped the execution of Herb Miller, brushing aside a Chinese soldier who was preparing to shoot the wounded sergeant. Kapaun helped Miller to his feet and carried him on his back for much of their journey to a POW camp. Miller and his wife will be at the White House on Thursday.

Kapaun initially was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Unsan, the Army’s second-highest military honor. That will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor.

After Unsan, Kapaun kept rescuing soldiers on the march to prison, persuading able-bodied soldiers to help carry their wounded comrades. In prison, he defied brainwashing attempts by the camp guards, picked lice off the sick, washed the clothes of wounded soldiers and – with Mayo, Dowe and others – stole bags of food while other POWs deliberately started fights to distract guards.

Kapaun, suffering from malnutrition, dysentery and other ailments brought on by the cruel treatment of the guards, died at the camp in May 1951. He was 35.

His fellow prisoners insist he was murdered by Chinese guards who resented how he had openly defied their attempts to brainwash them into collaborating with the enemy. As a result, they sent him to the “Death House,” where he was cut off from food and medical attention."

C.S. Lewis said that we know no mere mortals - the people we pass on the street are either becoming saints or monsters. This was a saint and I hope that I will have the opportunity to meet him someday and personally thank him for his service - to the Cross and to his country. 


www.kansas.com/2013/04/10/2756223/nine-of-kapauns-fellow-pows-to.html?story_link=email_msg

(Tip o' the hat to Ray Ramsay for this story.)

The "Improving" Jobs Picture

Financial columnist Charles Payne breaks down the March jobs numbers and finds that they reveal an economy that is, well - broken down:

"With only 88,000 jobs created last month the mass media immediately leaped on the unemployment rate which declined to 7.6% from 7.7% ignoring the fact 496,000 people dropped out of the labor force. The not in labor force has surged to 89,967,000 from 80,699,000 since February 2009. It's a sobering thought or would be if the media wasn't plying the public with happy faces and superlatives for polices that have been nothing but destructive. The jobs numbers for March were not just ugly they were heartbreaking and underscore trends we can no longer afford to look away from."

finance.townhall.com/columnists/charlespayne/2013/04/09/the-media-and-their-lies-n1561674/page/2

Amen. Do you remember the scene near the end of The Hunt for Red October where a Soviet attack sub has just shot a second spread of torpedoes trying to kill the Red October and the captain has removed the safety arming devices? Their quarry turns directly into them and they realize at the last second that their own torpedoes are going to blast them to kingdom come. A crewman turns to the captain with a look of fear and loathing and says, "You have killed us you ass!" We are just about there.

Your Kids Aren't Yours

At least so says Melissa Harris-Perry in an MSNBC ad. No, they belong to the collective (read "The State") and ve vill deal mit dem! This is scary stuff. The "Progressive" mask is coming off in the afterglow of Obama's election victory and the true arrogance and authoritarianism is being unveiled. This is why they are so enamored of leftist dictators - it is how they would like to do it themselves and they appreciate the unfettered iron hand. Be sure and watch the video. Harris-Perry may be dressed in pretty pastels but scratch the surface and all you will see is red. Ignore the packaging - look at the product.

realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/04/08/msnbc_ad_kids_dont_belong_to_their_parents_its_collective_responsibility.html

Housing Market Explodes/Collateral Damage

Perhaps you have been reading of the new optimism in new home construction which will propel the U.S. back to prosperity. Don't you believe it. If home construction was really starting to cook, employment should be up in that sector. Well, not so much. Fritz Pfister in Townhall in reviewing job numbers from the weekly ADP reports says that:

"The stand out number from the ADP report for everyone told of the great housing recovery by the Columbia regurgitators, is the number of construction jobs added in March; 0. That’s right, the great housing recovery added a whopping zero construction jobs in March."

finance.townhall.com/columnists/fritzpfister/2013/04/05/cautiously-pessimistic-n1558633

Hmm. Perhaps that is also why, as he points out, we are mired in the 46th month of the worst recovery of any of the 11 recoveries from recessions since the Great Depression. I am starting to see a second round of small businesses throw in the towel. They rode out the first four years of the recession but just cannot stay with it any longer. The President's Rx: more stimulus! Yessir, get them shovel-ready jobs out there. Let's keep doing what we have been doing, that's the ticket! Insanity.

Maher Encore Performance

What is Bill Maher putting in his coffee? Check the latest pronouncement on the Jimmy Kimmel show:

"I don't know what Mayor Bloomberg has in mind, but there's something wrong about the seventh richest man in the world sitting in bed at night thinking, “You know what people shouldn't do? Drink too much Sprite. Let's make that a law.” That makes me want to join the Tea Party and marry Ann Coulter, you know, and that's not where I want to be."

Stay tuned.
www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2013/04/03/Maher-Bloombergs-Nanny-State-Makes-Me-Want-to-Join-Tea-Party-and-Marry-Ann-Coulter

Volt Marches On

Okay, it's one of my favorite whipping boys, but this icon of the Greenies - the Chevy Volt - is continuing to astound with its market prowess. Drum roll please: in March a total of 1,478 of these babies were sold. In the whole country. Everywhere. With 320,000,000 people in the country. Which btw was down 35% from last March. Well boys, better break out a few more barrels of money to keep this Car of the Future alive! Yes comrade, I will buy a Volt. 

nlpc.org/stories/2013/04/03/chevy-volt-sales-plunge-%E2%80%93-obama%E2%80%99s-flagship-ev-failure

Google Lays an Egg

Google is not the most traditional or religious organization on earth, but this time they seemed to go out of their way to poke Christians in the eye. Typically on holidays they run the Google banner with a clever or whimsical graphic of some kind. Turning the "oo" in Google into brightly-colored innocuous Easter eggs would have been typical. Not this time, though. In the immortal words of John Belushi, "But N-O-O-O!" This time they stuck a picture of deceased farm union leader Caesar Chavez in the masthead on Easter and then the uproar began. A Google spokesperson issued a low key response to the dust up. "We enjoy celebrating holidays at Google but, as you may imagine, it's difficult for us to choose which events to highlight on our site ..." Oh I understand - a high holiday celebrated by only 1.5 billion or so people around the world is easy to miss. Puh-lease Google! Do you really expect people to not notice when you are peeing on their leg? We all need to be sensitive and caring except apparently when it comes to dumping on Christians. Used Bing lately for your searches?

www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/03/people-are-surprisingly-upset-about-googlesnon-easter-themed-doodle/63723/

(Tip o' the hat to Bill Brooks for this one.)

Stockton - Domino #1

When I posted the blog yesterday about California being technically bankrupt, little did I know that Stockton, California actually went bankrupt yesterday when a Federal bankruptcy judge accepted the city's bankruptcy petition. Stockton became the largest city (pop. 300,000) in the country to seek bankruptcy protection. www.cnbc.com/id/100578156

Some of the myriad reasons that led to the filing are set out in a column by Ann-Marie Murrell. They are based on the testimony of a city council member at the bankruptcy court hearing and include such sound fiscal policies as unlimited sick and vacation time with the ability to cash it out at retirement, $900 million owing to California PERS and a "Lamborghini" health care plan. You should take the time to read the full list because many other California (and probably Oregon) cities have undoubtedly been doing the same thing. And domino #2 will be?

finance.townhall.com/columnists/ann-mariemurrell/2013/04/02/way-to-go-unions--stockton-ca-filing-bankruptcy-n1555096

California Technically Bankrupt

It's official - the California State Auditor reports that the state has a negative net worth of -$127.2 billion. Even this figure does not include the unfunded public pension liabilities (estimated as high as $300 billion) or $60 billion for public employee health care. The fat lady is warming up just off stage.

blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/03/state-auditor-california-net-worth-at-negative-127-billion.html