For me, September 11, 2001 was to mark the beginning of “COMPTUEX” (a competitive, 45 day pre-deployment qualification detachment) in Mayport, FL for the crew of the USS Kennedy (CV-67) and the aviators and maintainers of CVW-8, of which I was a member of “The Pukin’ Dogs” of VF-143 operating the venerable F-14B (upgrade) Tomcat. This started just like any other work-up in which I had ever partaken – a lot of “hurry-up-and-wait” getting our tools and equipment up from the Hanger Deck to the Flight Deck and then down into our shops. I also distinctly remember that I was not really looking forward to re-visiting St. Maartin and St. Thomas again for the fifth or sixth time; I had a newly-wed wife at home in Va. Bch. and this was to be the final work-up of my career, so I was very anxious to get it over with.

Around 0845 we became aware of the events that occurred in New York City and since I was not in New York City, Washington DC, or Shanksville, PA, I will spare everyone my woefully inadequate narration of the tragedies that occurred. However, being a part of the initial reaction to the events that morning, I can attest that we were out there, in full battle dress, answering the call and performing as we had been trained, as you expected us to perform.

I am not sure how familiar you are with how deployments (even short 45 day deployments like the one we were taking) start and end in the Navy, but as you can imagine, most sailors have family that come to see them off and welcome them home. For an Aircraft Carrier, that can mean thousands of people on the pier to see their loved ones off. That morning, the USS Kennedy went to General Quarters (Battle Stations) still tied to the pier. The base immediately cleared the pier of wives, children, and other non-essential personnel; all of them under the long morning shadow cast on the pier by the Kennedy. Looking back, I realize that most of them had no idea why the forced removals from the base and all of the ships in the harbor were suddenly pointing their guns at them…. That had to be a frightening experience for all involved.

Most of the squadron personnel flew in the night before, from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Whidbey Island, WA or had driven in from NAS Jacksonville down the street (30 miles or so); however, there were almost no squadron aircraft, as they were scheduled for carrier qualifications (CQ’s) later that day. The only thing we had was a contingent of EA-6B Prowlers setting at the Terminal of NAS Mayport and a couple plane-guard SH-60H Seahawks and HH-60H RescueHawks – parked across from us on the other side of the port basin. In under 10 minutes from the initial call to General Quarters, the crew had the 1000ft, 90,000 ton USS Kennedy weigh anchor, unlashed, spun, and steaming past the Jetties of the St Johns River and into the Atlantic. Less than 30 minutes after that, we were at Flight Quarters with our two F/A-18 squadrons and my F-14 squadron circling overhead — fully armed, preparing to qualify.

…

As cliché as it sounds, it was a day that started like any other, and the night before was spent at a bar on the pier, having a beer (or four) with our friends, shooting pool, and generally not looking forward to the next 45 days or so of 13hrs-on-11hrs off. It was just as we had always done before – and would never do again.

I remember the next two weeks as a blur. Innumerable emails back and forth with my wife. Non-stop news coverage of “Why.” Somebody called “Osama?” Afghani – where? However, what I remember the most is how we were all AMERICANS. All of us. There we were, steaming in large circles off the Virginia and North Carolina Capes flying Combat Air Patrols over DC and Norfolk (!!DC AND NORFOLK!!), and all united against a previously unknown enemy – and we wanted to kill them all. Here we are Ten Years Later. Osama Bin Laden is dead as we remember those he killed, and the families that remain.

May God continue to Keep and Bless America, Gather Our Fallen, Protect Our Warriors, and Comfort Those in Battle and All of Us Left Behind.

Gregory K Roane
AT2/E-5, USN (veteran), VF-143 “The Pukin Dogs” 1998-2002

***This is a research essay I wrote for my ENGL research writing course last quarter. I thought that I would also share it with my RS friends. — Yoyo***

September 11, 2001.  Four commercial airliners are hijacked, the World Trade Center Towers One and Two are destroyed, The Pentagon in flames, a crater in a pasture outside of Shanksville, PA, and close to 3,000 people murdered.  Without question, this was the worst day in the history of the United States.  The tools with which nineteen hijackers wrested control of four commercial airliners were astoundingly low-tech and efficient; box cutters, off-the-shelf pepper spray, brute force, sheer will, and imagination.  In response, Congress predictably reacted by removing the responsibility of security from a bureaucracy that failed to provide it (the Federal Aviation Administration) and gave it to another, just-created bureaucracy, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  The TSA’s mandate is simple – ensure the safety of air travel by preventing another 9/11.  However, there are better ways to achieve security than by the sacrifice of privacy and liberty to an unaccountable and unelected bureaucracy.

The Fourth Amendment guarantees protections from “… unreasonable searches and seizures” and that “… no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause … describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”  Since its ratification, the definition of “unreasonable” in addition to when warrants and probable cause are required has evolved into the concept of the “Administrative Search Exemption” commonly referred to as a “dragnet” search.  The TSA uses this concept to justify the constitutionality of searching all passengers as a prerequisite of commercial air travel.  However, the increasingly intrusive nature of the searches preformed by the TSA has crossed the line from administrative application to criminal suspicion and therefore may be in violation of the Fourth Amendment. 

In a paper published by Ms. Eve Primus, an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, Ms. Primus provides a detailed look into the case law concerning the Fourth Amendment and the Administrative Search Exemption specifically.  In it, Ms. Primus states that, “As the category of administrative searches tried to accommodate both kinds of searches [dragnet and subpopulation], it gradually lost the ability to impose meaningful limitations on either one.”  Dragnet searches target all persons within a given area.  Under existing (and strikingly limited and recent) case law, if the search is administrative in nature, those performing the search are not required to obtain a warrant or need probable cause.  As Ms. Primus points out, “… the administrative search exception functions as an enormously broad license for the government to conduct searches free from constitutional limitation.”

Furthermore, recent challenges questioning the quality of security provided by the TSA by industry insiders has been met with retaliatory measures.  In a rather public dispute with the Charlotte-Douglas International (CLT) Airport’s Director of Security, John Orr, the TSA has refused to recertify the airport for trivial reasons.  The State of Texas Senate withdrew HB 1937 from consideration after a letter was received from the Justice Department threatening suit and/or the TSA cancelling all flights originating in the state, if the measure passed.  HB 1937 was designed to prevent security screeners from touching a person’s genitalia and other “private parts” when a person attempts to pass through a checkpoint.  Other complaints regarding how the TSA enacts comprehensive policy changes without a proper (or any) public comment has led to court challenges.  One group brought forth a court challenge, causing the 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington DC to remand and require that the TSA to submit one such rule enactment for public comment.  This has become bureaucracy run-amok.

Anyone who has ever stood in a TSA line will attest that the approach to passenger searches lacks certain common sense.  The search protocols and rules are reactionary, superfluous, and cumulative.  In many cases, as demonstrated below, the cause of the security breach occurred overseas and outside of the jurisdiction of the TSA.  However, that did not impede an automatic and compulsory rule change:

• When jihadists used box cutters to hijack airplanes, the TSA mandates that no passenger can carry nail clippers in carry-on luggage.
• When a jihadist on a flight originating from England fails to blow up a bomb in his boot, the TSA mandates that flip-flops and sandals must be x-rayed.
• When a jihadist plot to detonate a gel-based explosive on a transatlantic flight is foiled in London, the TSA bans baby formula and bursts a bladder cancer survivor’s urostomy bag covering him in his own urine, TWICE in eight months. 
• When a jihadist on a flight originating from Yemen and Europe fails to blow up a bomb in his underwear – six-year-old children and 93-year-old cancer patients are subjected to pat downs and virtual-imaging strip searches. 
• When a jihadist plot is foiled in Yemen to bring down commercial cargo planes with bombs planted in printer ink/toner cartridges, the TSA reacted by banning passengers from bringing cartridges and printers on over a certain size.  **Author’s note – Was this REALLY a problem?  Were passengers bringing commercial toner cartridges as carry-ons before?

Proponents of the TSA’s approach argue that the policies and rules must remain secret to provide for the safety of the public at large and that behavioral analysis and profiling infringes on the civil liberties of those classes of people targeted (Crowley, 2010).  However, it can be argued that by not applying a common sense approach to airport security is what truly infringes on the liberties of all people and the resultant policies only provide an illusion of security, subjecting the public to a bit of “Security Theater.”  

If the primary goal is that of air safety, an effective and efficient privatized (possibly subsidized) system should be implemented.  Common sense and other low-cost yet effective tools would be employed at every airport, instead of what we have today; expensive, high-tech, and intrusive gadgets whose overall effectiveness is questionable.  In short, all ticket agents and checkpoint officers should be behavioral analysis experts trained to assess each passenger; bomb and drug-detecting canine units should patrol every security checkpoint bottleneck and terminal; and the latest intelligence would provide an up-to-date target profile for suspects – and flagging those fitting the profile.  This approach provides the best security for the dollar and does not infringe upon the privacy and civil liberties of the public at large.  That is, if the primary goal is that of air safety. 

However, the motivation of the TSA today seems to be that of “looking busy” trying to catch “terrorists” while “being fair” in doing so.  This politically correct approach is why a hypothetical Ibrahim Abu Rashadi Abdullah Muhammed from Iraqistaniya or a Wilhiem-Robbert Josef Marx of an ultra-radical, neo-Nazi sub-fringe group affiliated with an airplane-hating group HSNF – HumansShouldNOTFly – could breeze through security while Mother Superior and Little Sally Pigtails are subjected to “enhanced pat-downs.”  It is just a bunch of theatrics so Mr. and Mrs. P. C. Taxpayer can FEEL safe.

There are better ways to achieve security without sacrificing our liberty to an unaccountable and unelected bureaucracy.  Individual profiling, personal-to-person interactive behavioral analysis, and bomb-detecting canine units are proven and effective detection and deterrent systems that come at a much cheaper cost, economically and ethically.  When will America begin to hold accountable bureaucrats who unapologetically infringe upon our privacy and civil liberty?

“Do I understand the sensitivities of people? Yes. If you’re [sic] asking, am I going to change the policies? No.”

– TSA Director, John Pistole.

There are many freedoms that all Americans enjoy solely because of the geographic location of our birth. We are privileged to have had men and women come before us who tirelessly worked to build a better tomorrow, sacrificed their wealth to preserve the way of life they had enjoyed so their children could do the same, or those who have mourned their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters who gave their lives in battle, preserving the very freedoms we sometimes take for granted today. In light of this Memorial Day holiday, I challenge you to remember those who came before us and to be cognizant of various freedoms we enjoy because of them.

Obviously, there are a great number of freedoms that we have and certainly more than could be placed in this short essay. So, in light of that, I will attempt to classify and define our most common freedoms. There seem to be three basic types of freedoms; endowed freedoms, granted freedoms, and personal freedoms.

Endowed freedoms are those bestowed upon us, as indicated by our Founding Fathers in their Declaration of Independence. These are described as inalienable – or those that cannot be taken from us – because these freedoms were not given to us by someone or something. These are freedoms (or rights) that each person is born with; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These rights serve as the basis of all of our freedoms, rights, laws, culture, and society.

Secondly, granted freedoms are those freedoms given to us by our Government. These freedoms are outlined in broad terms within the United States Constitution and further defined within the individual “many States” Constitutions and municipalities, each varying depending on the State or municipality in which you choose to live. The first ten amendments to the Constitution define the freedoms that we, the individual, enjoy as granted by our federal government. We have the freedom of religion, to have our voice and opinion heard publicly, to peaceably assemble, to own firearms, to personal privacy, freedom from unlawful searches, to due process, to a trial by jury, and freedom from cruel or unusual punishment. All other freedoms that are not specifically mentioned within the first eight amendments or within the Constitution are retained by us or by us and the States.

Finally, personal freedoms are those that we allow ourselves (and our children or families) to enjoy. They include the ability to choose what possessions we acquire, what we eat, what we choose as entertainment, or what level of success we strive to attain. We have the freedom to choose our faith – or choose to have no faith at all; that we choose to love – or choose to love no one; or that we choose to care for each other – or to care only for ourselves. These freedoms are the most intimate, the most personal, and the most cherished. These are those freedoms that many a person has died preserving.

In my relatively short adult life, I have had the privilege of serving in our United States Navy, during which I traveled to more the fifteen separate countries. Each country contained a certain beauty, a distinct culture and a unique history. But nowhere on this planet is freedom better demonstrated as the standard of life than the United States. Each of our freedoms and rights are only possible because of our past soldiers, sailors, and airmen have jealously and selflessly fought and died to preserve them. They have left those freedoms for us to guard and preserve, now that  they had passed on. For this, they deserve remembrance.

I pray you and your families have a blessed Memorial Day.

Okay, what am I missing?

What I have been told (by most media outlets) is that the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power station is suffering a meltdown because the 9.0 earthquake and resultant 15 meter tsunami knocked out the power and swamped the emergency generators to the reactors at the facility. Now, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is frantically attempting to “reconnect power” to the station in an attempt to get the coolant pumps running again.

….Umm, what?

This approach to the emergency was a probably a good idea on March 12, the day after the earthquake/tsunami. Since then however, a couple of events have occurred (in my opinion, at least) that has made that approach moot, to say the least. One such event was the hydrogen explosion on March 12 in the Reactor 1 building. The second was the follow on hydrogen explosions on March 13 – 15 to reactor buildings 2, 3, and 4.

The resultant damage (see below) to the reactor housing buildings make me conclude that simply hooking up power to the meter outside probably will not work. One, assuming that the power is hooked up, who is to say that any of the electrical infrastructure is in place to route the load to the coolant pumps? Secondly, assuming that they get a good path to the coolant pumps and plug them in, I am sure that they are stuffed full of mud/sand/sludge (radioactive or otherwise) and would require “much” maintenance to get operational. Lastly, assuming that they get them cleaned and operational (even marginally), the blasts most likely took out the piping. So, unless they have the pipefitting-crew-from-radioactive-hell on hand, the first two steps may be in vain. And you have to keep in mind, this is only for one reactor. Fukushima Dai-ichi has four in trouble.

So, what are they doing? Wouldn’t it be more prudent to try to get the fuel out, period, and place it somewhere deep, dark, and cold to spend the rest of its half-life harmlessly irradiating the local sea floor?

Fuel rods in a steam environment heat up at a rate between 0.3 °C/s (0.5 °F/s) and 1 °C/s (1.8 °F/s). Yes, that is per SECOND. Once a temp of around 5,000 °F is attained, there is no stopping a meltdown. How many seconds have occurred since the rods have been exposed in ALL FOUR REACTORS?

I know that I sound like I am attempting to armchair physicist (of which I am NOT) this from here in South Carolina, but without some better information, these are the conclusions that I, the layman, is forced to come to.

Since we are currently wasting our sailors, airmen, time, and money in Libya, I do not wish to continue to do the same in Japan attempting a hail-mary on a failed plant that was based on a naive and failed design by a government that is keeping the full information under wraps. It just makes no sense to me.

However, I would prefer to spend money on THIS, than Libya. At least Japan is a friend who deserves our assistance.

To me, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. should place a badger in a bag and swing it over their collective heads…it would accomplish the same thing: nothing.

(H/T BradBlog, Kyodo, and sofiaecho for the Images)

Oh, joy. I got this today from my HR. Open Enrollment is coming soon. November 8th. And it does not look pretty….

The 2011 Benefits Open Enrollment period is coming November 8-19. This is the time of year to carefully consider the benefits available to you and make the choices that best reflect your family’s needs over the coming year. Please take this opportunity to consider your personal journey to healthy living and make the choices that will help you commit to living well in 2011.

There are many changes in this year’s benefits reflecting the national health care landscape changes and the addition of more resources to better serve your needs including a new online benefits advisor. Two major forces have shaped the changes for this year—Health Care Reform, which became law this past spring, and [our] own escalating health care costs. Detailed information about open enrollment will be available on the portal on November 8.

[emphasis mine]

So, where I have no doubt that there is an increase in cost due to normal rate increases, I am absolutely CERTAIN that Healthcare Reform was the primary driver in the overall increase.

BTW, rumor has it that we are staring down a 25% increase in cost. Last year’s increase was 6%. The year before – 8%. How much would you like to bet that my COLA and Merit Raise will not be commiserate to the HC increase? Just saying….

Thank you for keeping my healthcare affordable, Barry. Thanks a lot.

Gee, this makes me feel all the better about my vote this morning.

I will update everyone next week as to the true cost increases.

What a Primary season….

This season was TOUGH in SC-01. Multiple GOOD, CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES – Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett, Henry McMaster, Tim Scott, Ken Ard, Paul Thurmond, & Leighton Lord.

Sadly, Lord did not get the nod for Atty Gen, and we are stuck with a candidate that failed the Bar and has not been a prosecutor, ever.

Nikki Haley sealed it up last night. She has been called everything – the entire spectrum from “whore to raghead.” You have just gotta love the big-tent mentality of the established Republicans and how the Dem’s can stick to the issues instead of name-calling.

Now the news of the day is that Nikki may be “The first Indian-American woman for Governor of SC.” THAT is the story? Try, “The first Female Reformist, Conservative SC Native for Governor.” That should be the story.

Tim Scott – He has been called a “14-year Career Politician” in the Primary; however this was coming from an opponent that is a relative newcomer to politics and that happens to have the last name of “Thurmond” (BTW, did you know he is the son of Strom Thurmond???). Tim has a 14 year record – in LOCAL politics – to stand on. He has a message that resonates, and chances are, with his voice resounding loudly, his message may, just MAY, carry over to the neighboring 6^th district (the one held by Jim “Elephant Dung” Clyburn) and begin to wear into his support a little.

However, the lead story today is that Tim Scott “may be the First African-American Republican Congressman since Reformation.” Really? Who gives a CRAP? Really. As with Nikki, the story should be, “First Reformist Conservative Republican Congressman since Reformation.” This race crap is wearing THIN. REAL THIN.

Jim Clyburn is about to find himself between a rock and a hard spot. Tim Scott to the East; Joe Wilson (of the “You Lie” fame) to the South and West. Tim is WELL known in Charleston and North Charleston (how the 6th is gerrymandered to cut Charleston in two makes no sense) due to his time on Charleston County Council, and he is a vocal – VOCAL – opponent to taxes (or penalties, fees, or whatever the “en vogue” word is today for “TAX”).

I have not followed the 5^th district race, so I am not certain if Jon Splatt – oops – Spratt is doing well. If Spratt falls, Clyburn will be the lone Democrat in this state’s national politics.

But I digress: A name that also came out of last night was Ken Ard for R-CAND Lt Gov. Ken is a small business type that promises to bring Small Business principles to the government. That cannot be welcomed enough.

The “Good Ole’ Boy” network is crashing down here in the “First in the South.” Reform is in the air, and it smells GOOD!

We will soon have 4 conservatives and reformers in power here. Governor, Lt. Governor, SC-01, and Jr. US Senator. Let’s ensure we get them into power as expediently as possible. Now, if we can only get the ad developer(s) for the RGA to start developing the campaign ads for these four …. ‘:o)~

Oh, a closing thought for Mr. Clyburn (D, SC-06)…

Here is a little biology lesson for you: No matter the animal of origin, all dung is excreted by the ass. Please, keep that in mind.

I just received this email from Nikki’s Camp:

Friends!

As we go through this day, we are closely tracking voter turnout across the state.  We are looking to improve voter turnout in the lowcountry and upstate and need your help to be successful.  If you can help us make phone calls, please email Taylor@nikkihaley.com for details.  We will succeed in this endeavor if the grassroots support that has gotten us this far continues to spread.

Thank you for your help, we’re just hours away!

Regards,

Joshua Baker

This falls in line with a Tweet that came across from Tim Scott (R-CAND, SC-01):

Attention TeamScott: We are getting reports about very low turnout. This means we need to turn it up a notch… http://fb.me/A6LyDCEs

They both need our vote and they both need our help.

Adam Weise, Aaron Dale Burkeen, Donald Clark ,Roy Kemp, Jason Anderson, Stephen Curtis, Gordon Jones, Blair Manuel, Dewey Revette, and Shane Roshto.

These 11 are the true tragedy of DeepWater Horizon. Have you heard anyone remembering them in the MSM?

Which brings me to Dave Letterman – he is a CLOWN and he makes me sick.  [From about 1:03 forward.]

This is not the Exxon Valdez: REAL people DIED, and the MSM focuses on the “Environmental and Ecological Impact” of this disaster?  Really?

Do you know where I had to go to get the names?  I had to go to the World Socialist Web Site. They are the only ones, other than The Times of London, to post their names (at least that I could find.)  Not the NYT or the LAT or the WaPo.  And certainly not Whitehouse.gov. 

Utterly disgraceful.  That is a “FAIL” in my book, Mr. President.

May you Rest in Peace, Roughnecks.  All my prayers and condolences to your families on their loss.  May Jesus comfort them in this time of grief.

So, I open my email this morning, and I have a solicitation from USAA.  In the 14 years that I have been a member of USAA, I cannot remember a single instance of them sending me a solicitation of any sort.  That being said, I decided to open it.  Thus it read:

Dear Mr. Roane:
Rarely in our 87-year history have we turned to USAA members to weigh in with elected representatives on an issue of great importance. But, we are now.

The U.S. Senate currently is considering legislation (S.3217) that would impose new rules on the nation’s financial services industry, including USAA.

As the leading provider of financial services to America’s military community, USAA supports financial services reform.

However, the current Senate bill would disproportionally impact USAA because we are a unique and fully integrated association. USAA is not like the banks and other companies that helped bring down our economy, and we never took a penny of TARP funds. We do not engage in the harmful practices this legislation seeks to resolve.

If unchanged, the bill would:

• Prevent USAA from managing the association’s portfolio as we have for the past 87 years.
• Jeopardize our ability to continue offering many of our competitive products.
• Limit our ability to return money to our members. Last year, USAA returned $1.2 billion to our members in the form of distributions, dividends, and bank rebates and rewards.*

So, we are asking all USAA members and employees to urge their U.S. senators to amend a portion of the bill, known as the “Volcker Rule,” to eliminate its effect on a company like USAA. Please know that this legislation does not impact individual member’s investments.

Regardless of the outcome of the legislation, USAA will remain a unique and enduring association that’s all about you — the military and their families.

Please take action on this matter by immediately contacting your U.S. senator. You may click here to access a special website that will enable you to quickly send an e-mail message to your senator.

Thank you for your help and support,

Josue (Joe) Robles Jr.
Major General, USA (Ret.)
President and CEO

[I was going to post the link, but there is some private information at the bottom that I would rather not have running about.  No offense.]

Read More →

When I first heard that Jim DeMint had a Primary Challenger this year, all I could think was, “What GOP Precinct encouraged a Republican to challenge DeMint this year, of all years?  Does Lindsey Graham have a cousin, or something?”  Well, as it turns out, no GOP precinct encouraged any challenge this year….

Jim DeMint’s Primary Challenger is Susan Gaddy.  For those not from the LowCountry, Susan Gaddy is a moderately well known lawyer from Charleston.  She has a long history political activism.  According to the Charleston Post & Courier:

Charleston lawyer Susan Gaddy has voted in more Democratic than Republican primaries, but her first bid for public office is an attempt to knock off U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint in the June 8 GOP primary.

<snip>

“I was a supporter of Obama in 2008,” she said. “I’m so disappointed (that) I want to run for the Senate as a Republican. That’s very disappointed.”

FITSNews asks:

So … how did this happen? How did a candidate like Gaddy manage to sneak into a GOP primary?

“State statute sets forth the requirements for filing,” SCGOP executive director Joel Sawyer told FITS. “It’s not something we have discretion over. But given her history with the Democratic party, if she is a Republican it’s a recent phenomenon.  Or maybe she just filed at the wrong headquarters.”

Her Letter to the Editor in 2008 in The Daniel Island News says a lot.  Most notable is her Signature Line:

Susan M. Gaddy

 

Daniel Island

 

President, Daniel Island Precinct for the Berkeley County Democratic Party

emphasis mine

Now, who wants to bet that she is just in it to bloody him up for the real Democrats in the General?  Needlessly drain his war chest?

If Joe Reilly (Charleston Mayor) backs her, I will scream!