The Captain Obvious Study of the Year!!

Have you ever really wondered about where all that increased college tuition money goes; or maybe what that tax-payer funded grant money is used for in the World of Academia? Well let me shed some light on the subject for you.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on studies, surveys and research all in the name of making America and the world a more healthy, friendly and civilized place to live. But are all of these surveys really necessary? Let’s check one out.

This week the results of a 20 year Harvard study were released to the public showing which foods pose a greater risk for causing obesity. Now bear in mind this study took 20 years so please do not laugh at the results.

Overall the results showed that people who ate more potato chips, red meat, sweets, and drank sugary sodas gained more weight over those 20 years than those who ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and drank water…..REALLY?

And when I say REALLY I mean it not because I am surprised by these results, but because I’m not sure we really needed a 20 year study to come up with these results. Think about it, for 20 years someone got paid to conduct this study. AMAZING!!

So, in the quest for a more civilized humanity I am offering my services to the public for free on some other issues I find are simple to understand, but might require a “study” for academics to figure out.

1. People who drink alcohol are more likely to get drunk than those who drink water. I promise you it’s the truth!

2. People who smoke are more prone to throat and lung cancer than those who don’t smoke at all.

3. People who chop broccoli for a living are more prone to lose a finger than those who don’t chop broccoli for a living. I swear, I am not making this up!

4. Beekeepers are more prone to be stung by a bee than those who do not keep bees.

Well, I could go on for a while but I would probably be in line for a lawsuit having exposed the results of some Scholar’s lifelong study. I hope I haven’t, I would hate to think somewhere out there was a hardworking researcher out of a job because I exposed the concept that short people find it harder to see on top of the refrigerator than tall people do (oops, sorry about that).

Anyway, as always I am just trying to bring a little common sense into the world. I Hope this helped y’all.

Now where’d I put my Potato Chips?
Bill

TSA Gone Amuck – Part 1

I began this blog several years ago in an attempt to enlighten folks as to the proper use of common sense. Well I think it is time I got back to it. As many of you know, I have sworn off flying. Not because of the safety in the air issue, but because of the security on the ground issue. After more than 2,400 hours in naval aircraft I can assure you flying is still one of the safest modes of travel there is; however, I still refuse to fly in a commercial airliner….unless my wife forces me.....um, er, I mean insists that I do.

Here is one example of why I refuse to fly. A few weeks ago, a family heading to Disney World was taking their turn through the TSA fondling and privacy invasion center in the Detroit Metro Airport. During this dazzling procedure, those geniuses decided that a 29 year old mentally retarded man posed a serious risk and needed an intense pat down. The 29 year old man has the mental capacity of a 2 year old and when asked to step to the line he did not understand what to do. When they asked him questions about his travel itinerary he could not answer them. Thinking the man to be uncooperative the agents felt he was a security risk and needed a special screening.

At this point they noticed the padding under his pants and felt this man to be a serious security risk. When the man’s father spoke up in an attempt to explain the situation, the valiant TSA agent stepped forward and told the father, “Please, Sir, We know what we are doing.” With this the TSA agents began their investigation of the scared man and his padding only to find an adult diaper “hidden” in his pants. At this point, with egg on their face, the over-righteous TSA officers decided to check the man for contraband at which time they found a hammer in his possession!

That’s right; this mentally challenged man had a hammer…of the six-inch, hollow, plastic, toy variety – Oh Thank God!!! When the father then tried to explain that the toy was his son’s security blanket and not going to cause any harm, the genius in the TSA uniform hit it on the wall and told the father, “See, it’s hard, it could be used as a weapon.” During this time the man became upset at having his dangerous TOY taken by the TSA.

Yes sir you heard me right; The TSA agent confiscated the toy hammer. Then the TSA agents told the parents that if they wanted to have it sent to Orlando they could arrange shipping; however, with the lightning quick speed that the TSA works, there was no time to ship it so they had to leave it with the agents who disposed of it.

Thankfully, the boys Mom (surely trained by the CIA, Mossad, or the KGB) used the craftiness of James Bond to smuggle a second toy hammer onboard by placing it…..in her purse!!! Mercifully the man’s was reunited with what at the very least was a replacement for the long-held security toy he had been so unfeelingly separated from.

Later TSA officials apologized for their agents handling of the situation and called it a onetime incident – REALLY? I did a short search on Google and came up with several others but I will wait to write about those later, I think they deserve their own time in the spotlight.

All of this sounds amazing, right? No!

This sort of incident is more common than you think and comes from a lack of common sense that permeates our society and it is up to us all to combat it at every level. I mean if there is any doubt that these people need help all one needs to do is check out the people of Wal-Mart website. How you help is up to you. I write this blog and make snide comments in the hopes that via these comments they’ll “get it.”

But while these people work for the TSA, I will not be patronizing the air transportation industry anytime soon…..Well, unless my wife tells me to.

Until next time…..
Bill

Don’t Taze My Granny!!

I don’t mean to be tellin’ no stories, but this is just Pure Grade A “Oklahoma.”

A man in El Reno, Oklahoma found his elderly, bed-ridden Grandmother in a state of confusion and unable to tell him what medications she had taken. She was so out of sorts that he felt he should call EMS to come out and check Granny.

Prior to the EMTs showing up, three of El Reno’s finest showed up to “help” out. When they approached the elderly and bed-ridden 86 year old lady (in her bed) they said she was confused and incoherent while being aggressive towards them. Apparently, Granny was unsure of who these men were and went into a protective pose….bed-ridden of course.

As these police officers began to demand that Granny back down, she apparently felt more threatened and pulled a kitchen knife at which point the officer in charge reportedly demanded the bed-ridden 86 year-old back down or she would be tased. At this point, the grandson said, “Don’t taze my Granny.”

With that the police officers subdued the grandson, handcuffed him and placed in the back of a patrol car. Then the officer in charge said he felt even more threatened when Granny took a more aggressive stance in her bed – REALLY? With that, she was tased until she passed out. Then she was taken to a hospital and admitted for eight days of psychiatric evaluation – OUTSTANDING!!

Well, as usually happens in one of these cases, Granny and her unappreciative grandson are suing the El Reno Police Department and the officers for $75,000.00. I guess the only questions I have for the three police officers is what was the deal. You couldn’t wait her out.

I mean when my bed-ridden grandma was alive she could last about 30 minutes before she fell asleep. Here’s a tactic, just stand still and don’t make any sudden moves. She’ll eventually get bored and those eyebrows will get heavy causing her to fall asleep, then you could all three jump on her and take her down…oh wait….she’s already in bed.

Maybe they could have just talked her out of it. I mean just speaking with the women in a calm and soothing voice may have reassured her that they were there to help. Oh, here’s one, how about getting the grandson involved and have him say something real technical like “Granny, these gentlemen are here to help you.”

I don’t know, maybe I’m being naïve but when we worry about how to juke an 86 year-old bed-ridden women with a kitchen knife and just go ahead and tase her, well I think we have some discussing to do on our people skills and the judicious use of Common Sense.

Mark El Reno, Oklahoma off my list of retirement communities,
Bill

Some Things You Always Remember.

They say there are times in your life that stick with you always and help to make you them person you are. I can think of several of those times that are stuck in my mind and when the anniversary of those dates come up I think about them. This year marks the 20th anniversary of one of those days.

In March of 1991 I was a young Airman aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while we were working through our Battle Group Evaluation in preparation for our upcoming deployment to the Arabian Gulf. It was an awesome time in my life. I was on top of my game, moving my way up the ladder, newly married with a beautiful baby boy, and looking forward to going on deployment – Living the Adventure. This was the first step in the tactical and operational side of being in the Navy and I was really enjoying it. It was like we were in a dream world of some sci-fi movie, but life was about to take an abrupt turn that would snag us all back to reality.

On the evening of March 20th and the early morning of March 21st I was working a tactical station in the Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Module aboard Lincoln. We were simulating wartime operations off the coast of Southern California. From Lincoln we were working the radios giving tactical information to the P-3C antisubmarine aircraft working with the battle group.

Over the course of the first aircraft’s on-station time, myself and our radar operator spent about six hours on the radio with the initial aircraft and later spent time with the second plane coming on-station to relieve the initial Plane. Around 2:30 am the two aircraft began talking to each other and turning over the submarine prosecution. Shortly after the two aircraft began this procedure we received radio communications from one of our helicopters and one of our escort ships saying they had just seen a large explosion and flames coming from the direction of the two P-3C aircraft.

As the initial shock of the situation wore off, we realized that our simulated battle scenario had just turned into a full scale real-time Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission. Working in the world of Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare in the Navy means that you are a member of an extremely small community of people who tend to know just about everyone else in your field. So the thoughts of possibly trying to save someone you knew became very real for us all; however, the reality of the situation was that these were two very large aircraft and there was very little chance that these two aircraft were not destroyed along with their crews. We would later find out that our fears were realized and that 27 of our friends had paid the ultimate price.

We spent the next couple of days coordinated and conducting SAR ops while only pulling wreckage from the water. Sometime during that period a small contingent of officers from the two planes’ squadron came to the carrier to begin the process of investigating the events to determine how this all happened. With them they brought a list of people onboard those aircraft and everyone involved in the ASW and SAR effort on Lincoln knew someone on that list. For me it was a young man I went through aircrew school with and later was at primary school with. He went to P-3’s and I got to go the Boat. I can remember when we got our orders how jealous I was initially, then thinking during that time how glad I was to be on the boat, and then later how bad I felt for feeling that way.

When we returned home I was glad to be home and held my wife and child with a newfound thankfulness to be with them. Later I would testify at the official board of inquiry. I would not wish that on anyone, especially when the families are there. There is no real way to comfort a family who just lost a loved one and I felt helpless to do anything for them. It made me think hard about how someone would have to comfort my wife should something happen to me. It was my biggest fear while serving in the Navy. I also learned that while having a career as a Navy Aircrewman was and is one of the best career paths a sailor can have, it can also be one of the most dangerous – and harshest.

I look back on that time and it is still as hard to think about now as it was to deal with then. How simple and fragile life truly is and how much we make of the things that we should probably let go of. I still get fired up about things from time to time and still overreact about things (probably more often than I should – my wife tells me so). But I always think about it later and then think about those times in life that make you realize how small some of those annoyances truly are and should be. It was twenty years ago today that one of those events happened.

Take Care Brian,
Bill

Unions

Unions have become one of the big issues in the last few weeks and it looks like the White House will use the unions and their support of unions as a main campaign issue in 2012. Lord knows the current administration doesn’t want to campaign on their horrendous foreign relations record, economic track history, nor their healthcare debacle, but that is another issue. It is important to look at the unions to view their positive attributes and their negative attributes.

Now I know this will startle many of my liberal friends, but I believe unions have been an important and a generally positive part of our society for a long time. Whether you are pro-union or anti-union, the truth is that unions do serve an important purpose in America and that at the same time there are unfortunately too many union officials taking advantage of their positions.

Because of unions, we have safer places to work, better standard working hours, health benefits, retirement benefits and a better life for the various individuals who work in the various industries in America. The theory of how unions work and what they can do for their members is commendable when it is kept to its theoretical base and used as it is designed. All too often the union officials regrettably take over and take a union in a direction that would probably not be supported by a majority of union members.

This can occur when union members pay their dues and then have little to no idea of how those dues are spent or on what campaign they are given too. Many people think this can simply be rectified by the union members leaving the union if they disagree with the direction the union is going and it does in many states, but in some industries workers must join a union to work and in some states (Such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana – Sound Familiar) there is no right-to-work law and anyone working in that state must join a union to work there. Even if they don’t want to be a member they still have to pay money to those unions for the privilege of having a job in that state.

This Forced Union philosophy many times motivates better workers to leave these states for right-to-work states. Basically then the unions and these forced union states are all too many times left with a working class that is looking to do the minimum work at a maximum Price. This Forced Union philosophy also limits the expansion of business into those states because many businessmen would rather do business in a right-to-work state.

Public Unions are also important and also have their problems, but unlike those of the private sector they must not be allowed to make political donations – AT ALL. Private unions should be able to give money to political movements or politicians if the membership agrees with it based on membership voting; however, since Public Unions are potentially negotiating directly with the very politicians they donate to, how can we be assured those politicians are actually looking out for the tax payers best interest and not handing over the purse government’s purse strings – your purse strings.

Unions can be and are great organizations when they truly work for the betterment of their membership. There is no problem when they do so. It becomes a problem when union officials move behind the scenes and control their organizations and politicians through coercion and scheming.

So if the unions are to continue to be effective they must realize that to work in the modern media environment they must learn to work in the Right-to-Work atmosphere. They must learn to work with the people they represent and utilize the marketing of their positives to attract members and not just rely on Forced Union laws to garner their membership and conduct business any way they see fit to do.

So in the end, it seems that unions are like every other organization working for the betterment of people. That is because even with the sincerest of purpose, the best of intentions and the highest regards for the membership, there is one thing that can undermine progress to be made by a union and that is the greed of those at the top. Not all unions have this problem, but clearly there are too many that do and because of that a growing majority of Americans are beginning to have a negative view of unions.

Sincerely,
Bill

Patriot Day 2010

As Chairman of our local County Republican Party I thought about having some sort of event today being the 9th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. We looked at the logistics of an event and somewhere during the process of putting an event together I realized that this isn’t necessarily a day that needs to be crowded with special events of commemoration. As one of those days when everything stopped I think it is imperative upon us all to reflect on that tragic day in a manner we each hold dear.

Many folks will reflect on where they were when they heard of what was going on. 9/11 was one of those days when we all remember where we were when we heard the news; like Kennedy’s assassination or the Challenger explosion. We all know exactly where we were and most can remember the feelings we all had. 9/11 was a day when all of our problems, all of our trivialness, all of our disagreements were put aside and a nation came together.

I was midway through a six-moth deployment and as a member of the United States Navy I was once again away from home in Okinawa. As soon as I heard of the first plane, I tuned in and saw the second plane hit. I immediately called home and spoke to my Wife and then my parents. I knew it would not be too long before phone lines were all tied up and I wanted to make sure I spoke with them before the typhoon hit Okinawa (yes, we were in the middle of a typhoon also).

Nine years ago my three oldest children were in elementary school, but they were military brats and understood that Daddy and his buddies were already deployed and would probably have a good shot at being some of the first responders on site to bring some retribution to those who so cowardly struck out at America. I look at them now and the older two are away from home in college while the younger two are at home; one of them born after 9/11. He’ll have to hear about that day from his older siblings.

How time passes so quickly and how so many have seemed to have forgotten that day and everything it means to this country. Today when I watch the events from that day, I can’t help but tear up and reflect upon the feelings and thoughts that still go through my head. Many of us lost friends and family that day and it still breaks my heart to think about it.

So, on this ninth anniversary of this day I will spend it with my family and friends. I will call the kids not here with me and let them know how much I love them. I will visit my Grandmother. I will sit in the stands of a Baylor football game with my children who are home next to my father like I have since I was five years old. And later tonight, when my wife gets home from her job as an ER nurse, I will sit with her and quietly reflect on all our life is and has become. In short, I will do all those things that make life so very special.

To my friends here at home, I wish you all well. To my friends still in the service, stay safe. To my family, you are all precious to me, even if you don’t know that. And to all my family and friends, I love you all.

Take Care and God Bless,
Bill

Just a Little Technical Expertise – Please?

So the President has chosen his select panel to discuss and determine the causes of the BP oil spill; the cause and reforms need to be addressed, studied, and corrected to ensure that this sort of incident is handled correctly in the future. In the past, presidents have chosen panels that sufficiently represented public issues as well as technical issues. In the 80’s there were a sufficient number of technical experts on the panel that reviewed the Challenger explosion, and in the 70’s there were a substantial number of experts with nuclear knowledge that investigated the Three Mile Island incident. Now it is President Obama’s Turn to appoint a panel to investigate the current Gulf Oil Crisis.

As this is dealing with a huge technical, engineering and environmental crisis, it would only be natural to expect a list filled with industry experts, deep-water engineering authorities, as well as environmental specialists. Well, getting one out of the three of these is doing pretty good for this White House. Let’s take a short look at this panel of seven and see what expertise they bring to the table.

Co-Chair William Reilly is first up; he comes to the committee a career bureaucrat serving in many governmental capacities in various Republican administrations such as President George H. W. Bush’s EPA Secretary. He has a law degree from Harvard and is currently on the board of directors of many companies and organizations including DuPont and ConocoPhillips. He has a pedigree and some name recognition, but it appears he has no real world technical expertise on this subject.

Co-Chair Bob Graham is a former congressman from Florida and governor of said state; not only is he a career politician, but he is the son of a career politician also. Like Mr. Reilly he has a law degree from Harvard and sits on the board of many organizations; however, Mr. Graham has also been appointed by congress to serve on the Federal Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. He must be extremely talented to serve on two such important committees at the same time. But alas, it appears that Mr. Graham has no real world expertise in the offshore oil industry either – Strike Two.

Frances Beinecke is a career environmentalist who has already made her position on this issue painfully obvious via her blogs as President of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). As a graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and her blogs describing her distain for the “abuse” of energy by Americans, it is difficult to see how Ms. Beinecke can even enter into the discussion in an impartial manner needed to make a clear decision on a matter so delicate to the nation’s future. On the Bright side, she did get to room with Sigourney Weaver in college!

Donald Boesch is currently the head of the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science. Unlike the first three members of this panel, Mr. Boesch was educated in a non-ivy league environment. A Tulane undergrad, Boesch got his PhD at William & Mary concentrating in Biological Oceanography. Dr. Boesch has chaired numerous committees and panels on Climate Change issues – a definite plus in the Obama Administration. If there is a score to be kept so far we would be at 1 bureaucrat, 1 politician, and 2 environmentalists (zero technical expertise, but who’s counting).

Terry Garcia is the fifth member of the panel and the third law school grad (from George Washington University this time – Sorry Ivy League). He is currently the Vice President for Mission Programs at the National Geographic Society. Prior to that, he served in the Clinton Administration as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and as a Deputy Administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Mr. Garcia gives the panel a second bureaucrat and third lawyer, but still no technical or engineering expert.

The sixth Member of the panel is Dr. Cherry Murray. She is the current Dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science, finally someone with some Engineering knowledge; however, upon a closer look we see that Dr. Cherry is a Physicist who is well known for her scientific accomplishments using light scattering. Now, I am sure Dr. Cherry’s work in light scattering is important and I will not belittle her work. What would be nice though is to know what light scattering has to do with offshore drilling. Dr. Cherry is also currently serving as the President of the American Physical Society and is the Chair of the Division of Engineering and Physical Science of the National Research Council. Just makes a person wonder where Dr. Cherry will find the time to meet all her obligations.

The last Member of the panel, and the individual who makes you wonder the most about her credentials on a panel investigating offshore drilling, is Frances Ulmer. Ulmer holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in a former Legislator and Lt. Governor of the state of Alaska. Currently she is the Chancellor of the University of Alaska-Anchorage and is considered an expert in the field of election reform. Chancellor Ulmer did serve on the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, so that must qualify her somehow to sit on a panel trying to figure out the cause and how to correct the causes of what may be the worst oil-related disaster in history.

These are the seven members of the panel chosen by the President to investigate the cause of and the reforms necessary to ensure that such an accident as the current Gulf Oil Crisis can be avoided in the future. Environmentalists, Lawyers, Bureaucrats, and career politicians; a perfect assembly to head a policy making group to create a propaganda driven global warming strategy, but hardly the group to identify and correct any issue involving a crisis of the sort that currently faces the country. But then again, what else could we expect?

Can’t Wait for the Results,
Bill