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Dreamlifter story causes flashback

I had a flashback today as I read stories about that mondo-jumbo jet landing and then taking off from that tiny airport in Wichita, Kan.

The Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, specially outfitted to haul airplane parts around the world, landed at the wrong strip in Kansas. It was headed for McConnell Air Force Base, with its much longer runway.

http://www.10news.com/news/giant-747-dreamlifter-jet-stuck-after-landing-at-wrong-airport-in-kansas11212013

My flashback returned me to Marble Mountain in what used to be called South Vietnam. I arrived there in March 1969 and reported for duty as an aircraft mechanic with the 245th Aviation Company, which comprised OV-1 Mohawks, one of the Army’s premier surveillance airplanes. We shared the small strip, just south of Da Nang, with the 16th Marine Air Group — aka MAG 16. Our strip was short, as our Mohawks were essentially a short takeoff and landing bird, as were the OV-10 Bronco gunships the Marines flew across the way. We also had a couple of UH-1 Huey helicopter companies, as did the Marines.

I can’t remember the precise length of our strip. I think it was around 4,000 feet.

Well, I awoke one morning, walked out of my barracks — and noticed a TWA Boeing 707 jetliner vertical stabilizer towering over our complex.

The plane was supposed to land across town, at the big Air Force Base equipped to handle aircraft at that size. I cannot remember how in the world that big ol’ jet ended up at our strip. But there it was.

The bird sat there the entire day and took off the next morning. They dumped almost all the fuel from the plane, leaving just enough to keep it in the air for five or so minutes as it flew to “Da Nang Main.”

The Dreamlifter that landed mistakenly in Wichita this week likely had to do the same thing to get into the air.

Pilots who make mistakes like this do have a way of redeeming themselves. I recall thinking in the spring of ’69 that the guy who lifted the 707 off the ground in Da Nang and landed it over yonder may have saved his job.

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Cheneys learning terrible lesson about fame

The Cheney family is being schooled on the terrible price famous clans must pay at times.

Their family feuds become public spectacles. The exposure goes with the territory.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd brings it all home with her latest essay.

The story has been told and retold many times in recent weeks. Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, wants to be the next U.S. senator from Wyoming. She’s challenging a long-time fellow Republican, incumbent Mike Enzi. She’s trying to outflank Enzi on the right, which is a hard thing to do, given the senator’s impeccable conservative voting record.

But in doing so, Liz has managed to offend her sister, Mary in the deepest way imaginable. Liz says she opposes gay marriage. Mary is gay and is married to Heather Poe. They are the parents of two children.

Daddy Cheney has declared his support for gay marriage. He also supports Liz’s campaign for U.S. senator. The Cheneys also used to be pals with the Enzis. Then we have another prominent Wyoming pol, former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson, who is mortified at what’s transpiring with his friends the Cheneys — and the Enzis.

Why should anyone beyond this tight circle of family and friends care? Because Dick Cheney served for eight years as vice president of the United States. Before that he was secretary of defense during the George H.W. Bush administration. Before that he was a congressman from Wyoming and before that he served as White House chief of staff to President Gerald Ford.

He’s a public man. His business becomes our business, even if it involves his daughters — both of whom have been in the public eye themselves.

Fame at times exacts a terrible price from those who seek it.

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Good luck in rehab, Rep. Radel

This is going to be my final comment on the troubles of Trey Radel … unless he messes up again.

The freshman Republican congressman from Florida has entered a guilty plea to possessing cocaine and has announced he will take a leave of absence from his office.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/trey-radel-leave-of-absence-congress-cocaine-100183.html?hp=t1_3

Radel is going to enter rehabilitation for drug and alcohol abuse. “This is my wakeup call,” Radel said, offering no excuses for his bad behavior. He got caught trying to purchase cocaine in a federal drug sting. He blamed his crime on his addiction to booze, from which he reportedly is recovering.

He needs to some serious counseling and rehab to shake the addiction.

It’s worth asking: Is he going to get paid while he’s off the clock? I suspect so, just as a lot of lawmakers who take leave of their office for one reason or another continue to receive their six-figure salary. Personally, I don’t think it’s right for him to take the money. That’s not my call, obviously. I’m not even a constituent of his; frankly, I hadn’t even heard of the guy until he got caught trying to purchase the drugs.

Having said all that, I do wish the young man well. He’s embarrassed his family and tarnished his reputation. Get well, congressman. Come back and, for crying out, behave yourself. You’ve called for drug testing for those seeking government aid. It’s time to lead by example.

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Now it’s Smitherman standing up for gun owners

Barry Smitherman is the latest Texas politicians to state the obvious.

He’s all for the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the one that guarantees Americans the right to own firearms.

My reaction to that? Duh!

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/20/smitherman-focuses-second-amendment-new-web-ad/

Smitherman, a Republican, currently serves on the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that regulates the oil and natural gas industry in Texas. He wants to become the state’s next attorney general. Smitherman’s web ad proclaims his undying support for the Second Amendment.

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, another Republican, recently posted a web ad that says the same thing as he seeks to become the state’s lieutenant governor.

I’m trying to look for the courage it took Smitherman to declare his support for gun owners. Texas isn’t a lot of other states. Gun ownership is virtually a given here. Our state’s popular culture practically requires people to own guns. Texas was among the first states to enact a concealed handgun carry law.

Barry Smitherman is a sophisticated individual. He stands a very good chance of being elected attorney general.

He cannot go wrong by declaring he supports Texans’ right to own guns. Put another way, Smitherman has exhibited a profound command of the obvious.

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Coke charge frames larger drug-test issue

Trey Radel’s troubles in Florida bring to mind a larger question as it relates to drug testing for people seeking public assistance.

Shouldn’t the people who make these laws be beyond reproach?

Radel is a freshman Republican congressman who has been caught buying cocaine in an undercover sting operation. He faces possible jail time for the misdemeanor charge, although he’ll likely get away with probation, a fine and some community service.

The issue gets a little stickier.

Radel has been in the U.S. House of Representatives for less than a year, but he’s already made a bit of a name for himself by advocating drug testing for those seeking government assistance — you know, things like food stamps, welfare payments, that sort of thing.

Radel’s view — as it is with the mostly Republican contingent in Congress that supports this notion — is that those who are asking taxpayers to foot the bill to help them get by should be clean and sober.

I’m still undecided on how I feel about this issue, but Radel’s troubles may be persuading me to lean against mandating such requirements on potential recipients of government aid.

Why? Because we invite hypocrisy among those who make these laws. Witness the situation involving Radel. He insists that your Average Joe American behave himself if he’s going to get public assistance. He’s got to pass a drug test if he’s going to receive a small stipend to buy food or clothing for his kids.

Radel, though, isn’t following the same standard he’s setting for others.

It might be too much to ask the fallible human beings who make these laws to abide by the very rules they impose on others.

Then again, how hard can it be to elect people to high office who aren’t prone to use cocaine?

Perhaps we ought to subject federal and state lawmakers to mandatory drug testing. Do you think Congress and state legislatures would go for that?

Me neither.

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Rep. Radel becomes latest face of hypocrisy

Trey Radel has become the latest face of congressional hypocrisy.

The freshman Republican from Florida was caught purchasing cocaine in a federal drug sting. It’s a misdemeanor offense, which means he’ll get off with a slap on the wrist, a fine, probation and maybe some community service.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/190862-report-radel-caught-buying-cocaine-in-federal-sting-operation

Why is he a hypocrite?

Radel, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012, has advocated drug testing for Americans seeking government assistance. It’s a popular cause among tea party Republicans seeking to build in some form of accountability for those seeking help from the government. They contend that recipient of government aid must behave themselves if they’re going to ask their fellow Americans to subsidize their standard of living.

Now the guy gets caught buying some blow in a drug sting.

Do as I say, not as I do … correct, congressman?

I’m glad he’s so contrite. He said he’s battling alcoholism and that he succumbed to temptation. Radel is vowing to get counseling and treatment. I wish him and his family well.

He’s not the first lawmaker to get caught in an act of hypocrisy. He won’t be the last. My advice to the young man, though, would be to pick his public policy battles more carefully.

He will have a hard time as it is shaking the hypocrite label.

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Critics fabricate anger over Gettysburg absence

President Obama today decided against attending ceremonies marking the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s brief but poignant speech in Gettysburg, Pa.

So what?

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/190733-website-woes-force-obama-to-skip-gettysburg-ceremony

The White House said the president took a pass on the ceremony because of on-going problems with the healthcare.gov website, which the administration is seeking to fix by the end of the month.

Still, critics on the right have found reason to criticize Obama for not attending the event. There was this, for example: “His dismissal of the request shows a man so detached from the duty of history, from the men who served in the White House before him, that it is unspeakable in its audacity,” wrote Salena Zito of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Ask almost any person in this historic town; even his most ardent supporters here are stunned.”

Well, I hasten to point out that President Reagan did not attend the 125th anniversary of the speech, which occurred when he occupied the White House. I do not recall much hissy-fit pitching over that. Indeed, the Gipper never even visited Gettysburg while he was president. It’s also been noted that of all the presidents who have served since Lincoln, only one of them — William Howard Taft — attended ceremonies on the site of the famed Civil War battlefield.

The criticism, of course, demonstrates the state of play these days. Barack Obama is having a difficult time at the moment. The Affordable Care Act is proving to be much more problematic than he envisioned. World hot spots keep setting off sparks. The economy is still a bit sluggish.

Does he deserve criticism? Sure he does. It goes with the territory.

He doesn’t deserve to be beaten up over being absent from ceremonies marking the sesquicentennial of the Gettysburg Address. Hey, he took the oath of office twice while placing his hand on President Lincoln’s Bible; he routinely cites the wisdom of the 16th president as one of his guiding lights.

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Second Amendment becomes state issue

I don’t know Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson well, although I have interviewed him. I like what I’ve seen so far in person. He is an earnest and amiable fellow with a nice touch of self-deprecation. He once “boasted” of how he finished in the “top 75 percent of my class at Texas A&M.”

He’s now running for the Republican nomination for Texas lieutenant governor and has just released a minute-plus-long TV ad that touts his support for the Second Amendment, the provision that allows Americans to “keep and bear arms.”

http://www.texastribune.org/2013/11/19/patterson-protects-right-to-bear-arms-in-new-ad/

Patterson is known as “The Gun Guy.” In 1995, as a state senator from Pasadena, Patterson authored and sponsored the state’s concealed handgun carry law. That is the crux of his TV ad.

I get that he is proud of the concealed carry law. I was one of those skeptics he talks about in the ad. I feared the kind of bloodbath he says opponents feared. They didn’t happen. I was wrong about the concealed carry law. Do I possess a permit? No. Thus, I don’t carry a gun.

I cannot help but wonder whether support for the Second Amendment is critical to the lieutenant governor’s race. Is this the kind of issue that will surface when the 2015 Legislature convenes? I doubt it. The Texas Senate is heavily Republican — just like Patterson — and won’t entertain seriously any effort to repeal the gun law of which the land commissioner is so proud.

So, what’s the point of the ad?

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Senate set to change vote rules?

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is threating the “nuclear option” as it regards the Senate’s voting rules.

Go for it, Mr. Leader.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/190780-reid-threatens-to-go-nuclear

Republican senators are blocking three judicial nominees to the federal court system. President Obama nominated highly qualified jurists to the D.C. Court of Appeals. The GOP has filibustered the nominees, however, requiring a 60-vote majority to break the filibuster and moving the nominations forward. They offer a silly rationale for the filibuster, saying that the D.C. court has too many seats and that it can function with just eight judges. The 11-member court has three vacancies at the moment.

Reid has had his fill of this kind of tactic. He is threatening once again to invoke a rule that would enable the Democrats who control the Senate to change the rules to require a simple majority — 51 votes — to unclog the nomination process.

Why not do it?

Republicans contend the measure could backfire on Democrats if the GOP takes control of the Senate after next year’s election. That would mean Republicans could stop any Democratic effort at filibustering legislation proposed by a theoretical GOP majority.

Reid insists that the Founding Fathers did not intend for the Senate to be hamstrung by procedural maneuvering, which is the result of the 60-vote rule.

The nation operates on a simple majority rule, yes? We elect our public officials who manage to gain a majority of 50 percent plus a single vote. Heck, we even elect presidents who don’t even get a majority of the votes cast, but manage to win a majority of votes awarded by the Electoral College (see George W. Bush, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison and John Quincy Adams).

The 60-vote rule can be abused, as has been the case with this constant blocking of judicial appointments by the president of the United States.

Go nuclear, Sen. Reid.

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What will happen if Obamacare gets fixed?

I’ve been giving thought to a situation that admittedly remains highly hypothetical … at the moment.

The situation involves attempts to repair the healthcare.gov website that has given the White House — not to mention millions of Americans — headaches, heartburn and all kinds of angst.

The website was meant to be the vehicle with which Americans would sign up for the Affordable Care Act. It hasn’t worked. The White House, President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, staffers throughout the federal government and just plain folks are up in arms over it.

The president has apologized for the mess. His critics aren’t accepting his apology. They’re demanding that heads should roll. Sebelius seems like the likely target, given that HHS is administering this snafu and Sebelius is in charge of HHS.

Congressional Republicans have declared the ACA to be a disaster. They know, by golly, that it will never work. It won’t provide health insurance at a price Americans can afford, they say.

The website fix? Forget about it, the critics say. The website is just a tiny fraction of the problem.

Well, this is all so much political grandstanding.

I’m wondering now what will happen if the Obama administration’s team of computer geeks fixes the website. What will occur if healthcare.gov is repaired and the site is able to process applications? What’s going to happen if by some chance the ACA starts enrolling Americans, who then will be insured for the first time in years?

And what will occur if the nation’s health care deliver system actually starts seeing improvements that its supporters — starting with the president himself — have said it would deliver?

I’m not yet ready to start throwing dirt on the ACA. I want to wait to see if the experts can fix what’s wrong with the website and I’m waiting to see what happens when the law gets implemented fully.

If after all that occurs and the system is still a mess … well, then you can hand me the shovel.

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