military news

USS Gerald Ford: no sign of disarmament there

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The U.S. Navy is about to commission its latest super warship.

Its price tag is a doozy: $13 billion. Yep, that’s billion, man. For a single ship.

It’s named after the 38th president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford, who served with distinction as a naval officer during World War II.

Why bring it up here?

We keep hearing along the Republican Party presidential primary campaign tour that the current president, Barack Obama, is “gutting” the military. The candidates all talk about having fewer ships, fewer warplanes, fewer ground troops, fewer this and that. We’re defenseless, they suggest, in the face of growing threats around the world.

Well, as President Obama told 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney four years ago during a debate, “We have fewer horses and bayonets today” than before, but that doesn’t make us weaker.

To call the USS Gerald Ford a formidable weapon is to commit gross understatement.

More than two decades ago I had the honor of touring another nuclear-powered attack aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. I was assigned by the paper where I worked to cover a tour of the ship by the late U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson, who invited me to join his delegation. My boss agreed, the paper flew me to San Diego to join Wilson and his delegation for a four-day tour of the Carl Vinson, which was cruising off the California coast.

We saw some amazing displays of skill and professionalism by the deck crews, the combat information center team and, of course, the Navy and Marine pilots.

The skipper, Capt. John Payne, took us on a tour of the flight deck and informed us of this interesting tidbit: A single carrier battle group comprising the aircraft carrier and its normal complement of cruisers, destroyers, frigates and smaller craft, packed as much firepower as all the ordnance dropped in all the combat theaters of World War II.

OK, so we don’t have as many ships as we’ve had, or as many airplanes or ground troops. Does that mean we haven’t invested a lot of money in the defense of this nation? Hardly.

I believe it was President Obama who recently noted that the annual U.S. defense budget is greater than the combined budgets of the next seven nations.

No, folks, we aren’t disarming ourselves.

Thirteen billion dollars for a single aircraft carrier makes me feel pretty damn safe.

 

entertainment news

Sir George: the real ‘Fifth Beatle’

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I recall late during The Beatles’ run as the greatest pop/rock band in history that the late Billy Preston was called at times the “Fifth Beatle.”

He played keyboards on some Beatles’ hits, such as “Get Back.” You can see him in that famous rooftop concert.

Sir George Martin dies at 90

The actual Fifth Beatle, though, was a man who was much older than the Liverpool Lads. Sir George Martin produced and arranged countless Beatles’ hits. He guided the band to the top of the music world.

Martin taught musicality to The Beatles. He was their creative genius.

Sir George died this week at the age of 90.

You can say all you dare to say about The Beatles as personalities and their individual contributions to the music world. Yes, they all contributed greatly. They recorded songs that still stand today — five decades later.

Check out some of the videos of Sir Paul McCartney singing Beatles’ classics to contemporary audiences today. You’ll see teenagers whose parents might not have been born yet when The Beatles were at the height of their careers singing along … word for bloody word!

Who made that possible?

The Fifth Beatle. Sir George Martin.

R.I.P., Sir George. Thanks for helping me come of age.

 

local news, national news

How about switching DST to Friday?

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I once thought of Daylight Savings Time as a modern invention.

It really isn’t, although it became all the rage in the 1970s as government officials sought ways to conserve energy during the first Arab oil embargo. Remember when gasoline “zoomed” to the unheard of price of, oh, 75 cents a gallon?

The ancient Romans set water clocks to different times depending on the time of the year. Ben Franklin, certainly a smart fellow, once published a satirical letter urging Paris residents to conserve candle use by rising earlier in the morning.

Daylight Savings Time has its critics and its supporters. Critics say it’s unhealthy, leading to increases in heart attacks as people seek to do more later in the day. Supporters note the energy savings created by burning less electricity.

Back and forth …

DST is about to return. We’re going to lose that hour’s sleep over the weekend. Sunday morning will arrive an hour earlier. Set your clocks ahead before you turn in, OK?

Ranchers will gripe, saying things like, “My cattle don’t know anything about Daylight Savings Time. They’re hungry when they’re hungry.”

Parents might complain, too, because the kids have lost some precious sleep time.

Others will grouse about the perceived difficulty of getting to where they’re supposed to be on time.

I’ve never had a particular problem with switching back and forth — Standard to Daylight time and back again. We’ll get that hour back in the fall when we return to Standard Time.

I like the idea of keeping the sun in our h-u-u-u-u-u-ge sky until later in the day. Take my word for it, sometimes these Texas Tundra sunsets can take one’s breath away and they seem even more spectacular later in the day.

Then again, maybe I’m imagining it. Whatever.

However, I do like to read church marquees. They often offer clever clips and words of wisdom — some of them divinely inspired, I’m sure.

One in particular — on South 45th Avenue here in Amarillo — asks: “Why can’t Daylight Savings Time start on Friday afternoon?”

Good question … don’t you think?

 

entertainment news, legal news, national news

Stalkers getting their rear ends kicked

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Sportscaster Erin Andrews has just won a $55 million award from a jury that ruled her privacy was invaded while she stayed in a hotel.

Someone recorded her in the nude while she was in her hotel room and then sent the video into cyberspace.

I can’t think of anyone who isn’t cheering that verdict. I hope she gets every penny, although it’s not likely she will.

There’s more.

Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan was recorded having sex with his best friend’s wife. That video was sent out, too.

The Hulkster is suing a publication for invading his privacy.

I have much less sympathy for Hogan — who’s real name is Terry Bollea — simply because of the nature of the video in question. I need not elaborate.

However, I do believe his privacy is as protected as Erin Andrews’ privacy. I hope he wins his suit.

And get a load of what the former editor of Gawker.com, which sent the video of Hogan/Bollea into cyberspace, told a jury today. He said the only people whose privacy should be honored in such a manner are children. At what age? He said 4 years of age. Five-year-olds? Hey, no sweat. They’re fair game.

Here’s how the New York Times reported the testimony:

“Can you imagine a situation where a celebrity sex tape would not be newsworthy?” asked the lawyer, Douglas E. Mirell.

“If they were a child,” Mr. (Albert) Daulerio replied.

“Under what age?” the lawyer pressed.

“Four.”

Holy smokes, dude!

The Times reported that there was an audible gasp in the courtroom. Gee, do you think?

The testimony almost turns Hulk Hogan into a truly sympathetic character.

Almost.

local news, political news

Bring a woman back to City Council?

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I’ve been thinking for the last little while about the gender makeup of Amarillo’s municipal governing panel during the 21 years I’ve lived here.

We arrived in Amarillo in 1995 and the then-City Commission had a woman serving with four men, the late Dianne Bosch.

As I look back during the two decades here, I seem to recall that almost during that entire time the commission comprised at least one woman.

It had a co-ed composition until this past year, when two female incumbents — Lilia Escajeda and Ellen Green — lost their re-election bids.

Now the City Council comprises all men.

One of them, Dr. Brian Eades, is leaving the council in July.

Should the doctor’s colleagues on the council pick a woman to succeed him just for the sake of gender diversity? To be honest, I can’t really identify how a woman’s perspective would fundamentally change the enactment of municipal policy.

Still it’s worth considering this fact: Women comprise roughly half the city’s population. Why not recruit a qualified woman to serve on the City Council? Shouldn’t the council represent the interests of all its constituents?

It does have an African-American serving. But the rest of the men on the council are Anglos. Hey, aren’t Latinos the second-largest ethnic group living in the city?

Again, it’s not that I’m promoting necessarily a gender-based affirmative action policy for the selection process.

The city has run well with woman at the controls. Heck, we even elected a female mayor — Debra McCartt — who seemed to defy the laws of physics by appearing to be in multiple places at the same time.

The selection process will be an interesting exercise in the first place. The council well might face some competing political differences as it wrestles with finding the right person to succeed Dr. Eades.

Let’s toss around the thought of looking for a female to restore the recent tradition of gender diversity on the Amarillo City Council.

national news

Should POTUS attend ex-FLOTUS’s funeral?

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I’m beginning to hear some faint rumbles out there in Social Media Land about President Obama’s decision to forgo attending the funeral of Nancy Reagan.

Someone please tell me this is just “normal” cyberworld chatter. That it’s par for the Internet course. That the twitter-verse is full of too many people with too much time on their hands.

The former first lady died the other day at age 94. President Obama joined other dignitaries around the world in expressing their sympathy to Mrs. Reagan’s family. He said some nice things that paid tribute to her service to the country.

He ordered flags lowered to half-staff at the White House and other federal government buildings.

That should be sufficient, yes?

Ohhhh, no.

Some have said the president should attend the funeral. I have heard reports of some critics poking sticks at Obama because he’s going to a SXSW event in Texas that had been planned for weeks.

The president is sending his wife to Mrs. Reagan’s funeral. Indeed, it’s customary for sitting first ladies to pay their respects at funerals of their predecessors.

Some former presidents might attend the service at the Reagan Library later this week. Then again, perhaps it’ll just be their wives. We’ve got several first ladies still among us: Rosalyn Carter, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush all might attend the funeral.

Then again, Hillary Clinton also has a pretty full plate these days as she runs for president of the United States.

I’m sure the right-wing mainstream media would pounce on her absence if she spends that day campaigning for the office that Mrs. Reagan’s husband once occupied.

This is such a nasty, contentious time.

 

International news, military news, national news

Who are you callin’ ‘antique’?

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Man, I’m feeling old today.

My body isn’t aching. I’ve got most of my marbles. My memory’s still pretty keen.

I just read a headline about “antique” weapons of war being used against the Islamic State.

The picture attached to the story is of an OV-10 Bronco, a twin-engine airplane used during the Vietnam War.

I remember the Bronco. I saw them take off almost hourly from an airfield in a place called Marble Mountain, just a few miles south of Da Nang.

I was assigned to an Army aviation battalion on the western side of the airfield. The OV-10s were piloted by Marines assigned on the other side of the strip. The Marines were stationed with a group called MAG 16, which is shorthand for the 16th Marine Air Group. They flew Broncos, Cobras, Hueys and the Marines’ version of Chinook twin-rotor helicopters.

OK, so I didn’t work on the Broncos, which look vaguely like the old P-38s of World War II; both planes had the twin-fuselage design.

They were effective weapons back then. I guess they’re doing the job now against the Islamic State.

According to the Daily Beast, the Broncos’ mission is somewhat hush-hush. They’ve been used to test updated equipment installed on the birds.

I recall the Broncos being fairly fast and agile aircraft. They would provide firepower to aid ground troops working in the I Corps region of South Vietnam. Today, they’re being used in a similar capacity against Islamic State terrorist fighters.

As the Daily Beast reports: “There are plenty of clues as to what exactly the Broncos were doing. For one, the Pentagon’s reluctance to provide many details about the OV-10s’ overseas missions implies that the planes were working in close conjunction with Special Operations Forces. In all likelihood, the tiny attackers acted as a kind of quick-reacting 9-1-1 force for special operators, taking off quickly at the commandos’ request and flying low to hit elusive militants with guns and rockets, all before the fleet-flooted jihadis could slip away.”

It’s interesting — and somewhat gratifying — to me that tried-and-tested equipment still has its place in this new world of high-tech warfare.

However, to call them “antique” makes those of us who watched these birds fly in their prime feel, well, a bit older than our years.

I can do without the reminder.

local news

City begins search for new manager … good!

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Amarillo is about to commence its search for a permanent city manager to take the reins of a government that has been beset with a few hiccups and headaches of late.

We’ve got an interim manager on the job. Terry Childers came aboard a few months after Jarrett Atkinson quit. The initial word about Childers was that he is a take-charge guy, a thorough administrator and a hands-on sort of chief executive.

Then he made that fateful 911 call after misplacing his briefcase, threw the emergency call center into an uproar and became the object of considerable, um, discussion — and perhaps some derision — throughout the community.

OK. What now?

Mayor Paul Harpole said the search will be national.

Allow me a brief hand-clap here. That’s a good call.

“We think it’s time and I think Mr. Childers thinks it’s time too.” said Harpole. Yes, it certainly is, Mr. Mayor.

The governing body doesn’t have much institutional knowledge in conducting that kind of search. John Stiff served as city manager from 1963 until 1983. Then came John Ward, Alan Taylor and Atkinson, all of whom were promoted from within. The city limited its search.

A wide-ranging national search will serve the city well — if it’s done thoroughly and with proper vetting of all the applicants who want to relocate to the Texas Tundra.

The council — which has the sole authority in making this hiring decision — is going to get a lot of unsolicited advice from its bosses. That would be you and me. The folks who pay the bills with our tax money.

Here’s a suggestion: Consider following a model adopted by the Texas A&M University System and Amarillo College when selecting campus presidents.

West Texas A&M University, for example, has done a good job of introducing campus president candidates to the community before they are hired. The A&M regents have selected finalists and then trotted them out one at a time to meet with campus faculty, student body officers and then the public. All interested parties are given the chance to size up the finalists before the regents make the call.

City Hall can go through the same process with the finalists selected by the council.

It’s not a radical approach. It merely infuses the process with the kind of transparency the public was told had been missing in earlier critical policy discussions. You’ll recall the campaign pledges by some of the newest members of the council, yes? We’re going to make city government more “open,” more “accountable,” more “transparent.”

Well, gentlemen, here’s your chance.

Now that the interim city manager has issued his apology for the clumsy manner he handled that 911 call in February and has pledged to behave himself for the rest of the time he’s on the job, the council can proceed with all deliberate speed in finding a permanent chief administrator.

It’s going to take a few months. Be careful, council members. Be diligent, too. Be open and be sure you keep us — your employers — in the loop.

 

local news

A reminder: City Council doesn’t meet in secret

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I happened to be scrolling through some of my earliest blog entries this evening when I came upon this item from April 2009.

It discusses the Amarillo municipal government’s work sessions, those public meetings that occur prior to the start of the “regular” meetings.

Here’s what I wrote then.

I think it’s worth mentioning once again that the City Council — which used to be called a City Commission — does a good job of ensuring that it doesn’t violate the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The state law spells out in careful language those issues that elected bodies can discuss outside of public earshot: personnel matters, pending litigation, sale or purchase of real estate.

That’s it, man.

The City Council has revamped its regular meeting procedure in recent months. It now meets in the early evenings every Tuesday, enabling working residents to attend after they get off their jobs during the day.

There have been calls to get rid of the work sessions, or at least to move them into the council chambers, where there’s plenty of seating to enable large crowds to attend. I even joined that call a year ago in an earlier blog post. However, it’s not because I feared the council was violating open meetings laws.

Even in the old days, when the council met in that tiny meeting room away from the regular meeting chambers, the elected body took pains to avoid breaking state law.

Yes, the mayor would declare an executive session was about to occur, sending media representatives and other members of the public scurrying from the room. The only serious loophole in the state law had been the lack of recordings of those secret meetings to ensure that the body wasn’t talking about things it should be discussing.

Still, the complainers keep carping on what they allege is some sort of secret cabal doing business illegally. They found their voice during the campaign in 2015 for the multipurpose event venue, suggesting that the MPEV was crafted and cobbled together in secret … illegally!

It turned out to be a red herring and voters saw through it by approving the MPEV.

It reminds of the many conspiracy theories throughout history that simply never die.

 

International news, military news, national news, political news

In other news, U.S. kills another ISIL leader

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Americans went to the polls today in a couple more states to vote on the next president of the United States.

Meanwhile, the guy who still holds the office — Barack H. Obama — can claim another victory in the nation’s fight against the Islamic State.

Another ISIL leader has been smoked.

Abu Omar al-Shishani, aka Omar the Chechen, reportedly has been killed in a U.S. air strike, giving the United States another notch in its belt as it seeks to seek out and destroy ISIL leaders.

The strike occurred in Syria, which is where Russian, Jordanian, French and British air forces have joined the Americans in the air campaigns against the monstrous terror organization.

Omar the Chechen was the minister of war for the Islamic State, which I guess means he helped plan the strategies that ISIL is carrying out against those who oppose the organization’s effort to bring misery to anyone on Earth.

According to reports, the strike involved waves of manned and unmanned aircraft targeting Shishani, who reportedly had been sent to Syria to shore up terrorist troops that had suffered setbacks on the battlefield.

Against the backdrop of the presidential campaign, it’s interesting to note what one of the Republican challengers has suggested. Donald J. Trump has actually proposed letting ISIL overthrow the Syrian regime. Yes, let the terrorists take over a sovereign nation. That’s what Trump has suggested.

That, I dare say, is an utterly insane idea.

I’d rather continue doing the course on which we’ve embarked, which is to keep bombing the daylights out of ISIL troops and their key leaders.

We possess the firepower to bring extreme misery to the enemy.

We’ve done so yet again. Would it be the final ISIL leader to be killed if Omar the Chechen’s death is confirmed? No.

Still, it still looks like a victory in our war against the Islamic State.

 

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