What Is Happening in Korea?

For John, BLUF:  You have already seen it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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City Life Discussion of Korea, North and South

Today on City Life there was a special guest, David Maxwell, Colonel, US Army (retired), who is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Colonel Maxwell talked about Korea, South and north.

Not an “Academic” discussion, but it was, for me, an interesting review for the layperson.

It can be seen again on LTC, "Channel 8”, at 5:00 this afternoon, or at this link, again on "Channel 8”.

Regards  —  Cliff

All Candidates Are Well Off

For John, BLUF:  There are few poor people in Politics.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Well, almost all.  Governor Martin O'Malley, a Democrat who has now suspended his campaign, is in debt to put his children through college.  Others, not so much, or better, much more.

Ms Agustino Fontevecchia, writing for Forbes, enlightens us about Presidential Candidate wealth—"Forbes’ 2016 Presidential Candidate Wealth List".

So, I graphed it out, and as you can see, when one candidate has billions, others are lost in the noise on the bottom of the graph.

So, I took out Mr Trump and this is how the rest sort out.

But, who are these people?  Yesterday, on City Life, the guests said that the Democrats are the working poor and the Republicans are the rich.  So, here are the names with the numbers (you can see party affiliation in the second graph):

• Martin O'Malley—$0
• Marco Rubio—$100,000
• Bernie Sanders—$700,000
• Lindsey Graham—$1,000,000
• Rick Santorum—$2,000,000
• Rand Paul—$2,000,000
• Chris Christie—$3,000,000
• Ted Cruz—$3,500,000
• Bobby Jindal—$5,000,000
• Jim Webb—$6,000,000
• Jim Gilmore—$7,000,000
• Mike Huckabee—$9,000,000
• John Kasich—$10,000,001
• George Pataki—$13,000,000
• Jeb Bush—$22,000,000
• Ben Carson—$26,000,000
• Lincoln Chafee—$32,000,000
• Hillary Clinton—$45,000,000
• Carly Fiorina—$58,000,000
• Donald Trump—$4,500,000,000

Hat tip to Nate Silver and the Five Thirty Eight Blog.

Regards  —  Cliff

Two High Schools, Please

For John, BLUF:  A new voice with a good view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Following up on the previous post, we go back to this morning's City Life, where we had Senior Host John McDonough, Host George Anthes, Co-Host Linda Bown and guests Kamara Kay, Julie Ngor, and Champa Pang.  All were excellent.

One of the thing that stood out to me was Ms Champa Pang making a very articulate suggestion that Lowell would be better off with two high schools, rather than one massive rebuilt high school.

I think she is correct.  She says the large campus is too overwhelming for many of the incoming Freshmen.  She thinks we would be better off dividing the school in half.

Of course, she is up against the seven last words of Lowell—"We never did it that way before".

I like the idea of two high schools.  For one thing, my own experience is with a smaller high school, some 2,200 students.  And, in our school district they took the design for our high school and moved up north a few miles and built one exactly like it and everyone was happy.

Big high schools just increase the distance from the Principle (Head Master) to the new Freshman student.  The new student, no matter the intermediary staff, become an even smaller cypher in a large organization.  A student who is on the margin of good enough gets shoved back to not near good enough.

My own experience, in the Air Force, tells me that first line organizations, in the Air Force the Squadrons, if they become too big become places where people get lost and trouble brews.

Two high schools would mean that more students would get a shot at doing things, at being on the football team, at being in the Student Musical, at being on the debate team.  Opportunities would increase and students would do better.

Ms Chamnpa Pang is on target with her suggestion.  Thank you Ms Pang.

And, you can watch a rerun of the show this afternoon on LTC CHannel 8 or HERE on the internet.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Hat in the Ring

For John, BLUF:  A scoop for City Life?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This morning on City Life we had Senior Host John McDonough, Host George Anthes, Co-Host Linda Bown and guests Kamara Kay, Julie Ngor, and Champa Pang.  All were excellent.

One thing that happened was John McDonough let out the news that former School Committee Candidate Kamara Kay is gearing up to run for the 18th Middlesex Representative seat, the one currently held by Democrat Rady Mom.  Mr Kay is a Republican, a graduate of Lowell High School and also of Norwich, up in Vermont.

Here is the article in The [Lowell] Sun.♠

Yes, I am supporting Kamara Kay.

Host George Anthes gave Kamara Kay advice as to how he should attack Rady Mom, to which the new candidate replied that he didn't even know if Rady Mom would run for a second term.  Host George Anthes also queried Kamara Kay as to if he would get support from Governor Charlie Baker and other leading Republicans.  Of course this is the same George Anthes, a registered Republican, who does not support Republican candidates for State Rep or State Senator in his own district, but that is another story.

You can watch a rerun of the show this afternoon on LTC CHannel 8 or HERE on the internet.

More from the show in the next post.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  And at his blog Gerry Nutter had this to say.

What Brought Down The Russian Tourist Airliner

For John, BLUF:  At this point it is all speculation, and someone will guess right.  Luck.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On City Life this AM someone asked what brought down the Russian Airliner.  There are strong indications the aircraft broke up in flight and fell to earth.  That part seems pretty sure.

In this Boston Globe article is a picture of the tail section of the Airbus A321-200 that came apart over Sinai.  "Cause of jetliner crash remains uncertain".

But what caused the breakup in flight?

• Highly Unlikely:  It is possible that it was hit by a missile.  It was over the Sinai, which is controlled by Egyptian Rebels.  But, no man portable surface to air missile did this and the chances the rebels have a real surface to air missile are very slim.
• Highly Unlikely:  The pilot performing some whifferdill that causes the aircraft to exceed its structural limits.  Maybe because he was mad at the airline, or his wife.  The likelihood is low because the flight controls may not have the authority to maneuver the aircraft outside of tested and approved flight limits.
• Low Probability:  The aircraft is over a decade old and a defect in design or manufacture, aided and accommodated by poor maintenance practices, could have caused some of the skin to rip off, causing major structural failure.  That would bring the aircraft down.
• Medium Probability:  A bomb could have caused this, but whose bomb?
• Small Possibility:  A disgruntled airline employee, looking for revenge.
• Some Possibility:  A person rejected in love, striking back.
• Some Possibility:  A person looking to ice an inheritance.
• Good Possibility:  A Russian home-grown insurgency found an opportunity to strike back.
• Strong Possibility:  Daesh, upset with Russian intervention in Syria, strikes back.
• Possible, But Highly Unlikely:  Something we haven't yet thought of.

At this point we just don't know.

Regards  —  Cliff

Tyranny of the Bureaucrats

For John, BLUF:  I've been one.  They need outside supervision.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On City Life this morning the Host, George Anthes, asked guest Ben Opara, running for School Committee, how he could tell the professional school teachers what to do.  Aside from the face that the School Committee doesn't get into the nitty-gritty of running the schools, there is the question of if Dr Anthes is suggesting our Government be run by the unelected bureaucrats.  That is not the American Way.

Would this be Bureaucracy as Government?

Or would it be Bureaucratic Collectivism, which sounds somewhat like what Senator E Warren talks about?

Regards  —  Cliff

Happy Birthday, John

For John, BLUF:  This would be you.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Still young, so hang in there.

Regards  —  Cliff

Views on Government

For John, BLUF:  It is Entertainment.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On City Life this AM, about 6:35, Host George Anthes declared that Democracy is a waste of time.

Regards  —  Cliff

Grounds for Divorce

For John, BLUF:  Yes, in some States a felony can be grounds for divorce by your spouse.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On City Life this morning Host George Anthes was on the City Council and the General Court over a move to making shooting into a house a felony, arguing that the term felony doesn't mean anything, that it is a distinction without a difference.  To a large degree, in Massachusetts, that is true, but it is not entirely true.

I mentioned that someone with a felony couldn't get a commission as an officer in the US Armed Forces.  I forgot to mention that it was an impediment to a liquor license here in the Commonwealth.

Here is a list of consequences from Wikipedia.

• Disenfranchisement (expressly permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment, as noted by the Supreme Court)
• Exclusion from obtaining certain licenses, such as a visa, or professional licenses required to legally operate (making some vocations off-limits to felons)
• Exclusion from purchase and possession of firearms, ammunition, and body armor
• Ineligibility to serve on a jury
• Ineligibility for government assistance or welfare, including being barred from federally funded housing
• Deportation (if not a citizen)

Making discharge of a weapon in the City a felony will have consequences for those arrested, tried and convicted, its impact on local shooters is likely to be minimal.  I expect most shooters don't care about an exclusion from the purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition.  They probably obtained both from illegal sources and figure they will be able to in the future.  I doubt such people would care about not being able to get a license to run a small business.

For sure, Host George Anthes is correct in saying it is time to stop doing "feel good" legislation and to move on to fixing the chain of actions from investigation of a crime, arrest, interrogation, indictment, prosecution, trial, conviction, sentencing and rehabilitation.  And he is correct that Judges are a big part of the problem, but so are the Prosecutors.  The Prosecutors are the ones who cut the deals that result in criminals not feeling the full force of the law.

Regards  —  Cliff

Lawyers and the Law

For John, BLUF:  If ignorance of the law is no excuse, laypersons need to be thinking about the law.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On City Life this morning Host George Anthes, while discussing the Constitution, the US Supreme Court and Law and Great Lowell Technical High School made a reference to me as someone who didn't accept his views, the views of a man educated in the law and with a license to practice.  And a Government Prof at UML.

So, I texted in some comments, and followed up when I called in later, about another issue.  The problem is, I sent the text to my Granddaughter, Jennifer.  And she didn't point this out to me until it was too late.  But we had a nice exchange via text.  She is out in Ohio, married, a Mother and working in Quality Control for a chemical company.

But, back to the Show, George suggested I didn't trust the opinions of lawyers.

Actually, no.

But, to privilege lawyers over citizens, when only 5 Justices (or a Jury) can determine what a law means seems wrong.

Cliff

And, George is always saying "Five lawyers, five opinions."♠

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  I am thinking, actually more than five opinions—n factorial and all that.

Olympic Costs

For John, BLUF:  I am betting there will be an overrun and it will be in the neighborhood of 45% ($11.75B total).  Not outside reasonable expectations.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Ms Shirley Leung has an opinion piece in the Business Section of today's Boston Globe.  It is about the 2024 Olympics and is titled "At what price will the Games be worth it to Boston?"

I’ve been getting an Olympic-size headache trying to figure out the actual cost of hosting the Summer Games.

Sure, Boston 2024 lays out its budget in a slick 19-page bid document telling us the price tag, not including security and infrastructure, will be $8.1 billion. All of the funds, in theory, will be put up by the private sector and institutions like the University of Massachusetts Boston that will use the facilities afterward.

The underlying question is what will it cost in addition.  There is a graphic accompanying Ms Leung's article, showing how different sites have experienced cost overruns.  Some of them are pretty large, although not as large as the Big Dig, which tripled in price.♠

People may not view this as a serious issue.  This morning, on City Life, Host George Anthes was bad mouthing those who might be opposed to the Boston 2024 Olympics.  This grew out of his declaring that while he is a Republican, he supports Representative Dave Nangle and State Senator Eileen Donoghue.♥  That segued into the Olympics bid, of which Senator Donoghue is a strong supporter.♦

I say let us not, up here in Lowell, go all Marty Walsh and shut down free and open discussion about this event a decade in the future.  Let us not make fun of or ridicule those who have a different opinion, a concern that we don't feel.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  The Big Dig is sort of the F-35 of public works projects.
♥  They are both from out in Western Mass.
♦  I am thinking that the Senator needs to update her Wikipedia page.

Following the Rules

For John, BLUF:  Speed Limits are special—the bureaucrats fight the good sense of the people.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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On the City Life show this morning was some discussion of "rules" and their place and value.  We are "a nation of laws (a nation of rules), and not of men" (thank you John Adams) and that provides us a framework for our interactions with others.

From Lord Kelvin:

The true measure of a man is what he would do if he knew he would never be caught.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cuba Libre

For John, BLUF:  Departure of Communism does not necessarily mean the creation or the return of Democracy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Today on City Life Registrar of Deeds Richard Howe said that he could characterize views on Cuba based on their political orientation.  I think that is not true.

My own view on Cuba is that it is a good move on President Obama's part, although it will take Congress to end the embargo.

All that said, to quote former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "What difference, at this point, does it make?"  The Canadians and Europeans have been going to Cuba for years, to no impact.  Even if the Brothers Fidel and Raoul go away and full fledged capitalism returns, will it be any better a democracy than under the man they replaced, Felgencio Batista, or under themselves?

Regards  —  Cliff

Teaching and Knowledge

For John, BLUF:  Not all opinions are equal.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dracut Town Moderator Leo Gaudette took Host George Anthes to task on City Life Friday morning for commenting on Town Meetings without having attended a Town Meeting.

It seemed a little snarky.  Professor Anthes teaches Government at UMass Lowell.  I am willing to bet dollars to donuts (I wonder if that is still a good ratio, as it was when I was young) that Professor Anthes hasn't "experienced" everything he teaches.  What about County Government?  At one time Professor Anthes was part of County Government, but in this day and age a young professor might have never experienced County Government here in Eastern Massachusetts, but I would expect him or her to educate students about it.

If direct experience were required to comment, few would be able to speak.

Regards  —  Cliff

Calling Doctor Anthes

For John, BLUF:  What is the new civility?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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For the last week or so the Host of City Life, Professor George Anthes, has been calling for civility on the part of City Officials, elected and appointed.  It is almost like he has reverted to his Democrat Party youth in calling for a new civility.♠  Democrats, as we well know, have, ever since the Rep Gabby Giffords shooting, been calling for a new civility.  And now they are bashing the Republican over some mythical "war on women".  But, City Life Host George Anthes is focused like a laser beam on local uses of terms that suggest disrespect toward other City Officials.

Today's edition of The [Lowell] Sun has an article ("School panel: City's $3.8M shortfall is 'irresponsible'") which suggests that perhaps Mr Anthes is on to something.♥  The reporter is Mr Lyle Moran.  Here are some of the quotes:

Member David Conway called the shortfall the result of "mismanagement" and "irresponsible" actions on the part of both school and city officials.

Then there is this:

Member Stephen Gendron said of the shortfall:  "It was a gross mistake. We should have gotten the $3.8 million."

If someone accused me of a "gross mistake" I wouldn't take too kindly to it.

"To me this is negligence on the part of the administration," Elliott said.  "We should have been made aware of this huge deficit a long time ago."

My dictionary says, regarding the law, negligence is "failure to use reasonable care, resulting in damage or injury to another."

I wonder when we get to "fighting words".

At any rate, tune in to City Life tomorrow (live from six to eight and on replay from four to six) on LTC Channel 8.  The show is also available on line, here.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That said, he is a loyal member of the Ward 1 Republican City Committee.
♥  Remember, articles in The [Lowell] Sun go away after a while, to a different place.  I will not be updating their links unless I am bedridden and have read every book in the house.  And, besides, the Editor tells me the links cost money after a few weeks.  It is the new business model.

Pater Noster

For John, BLUF:  What does George mean?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Here is how I learned the "Our Father", at my Mother's knee, so to speak:

Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Here is how all the other kids in my Elementary School Class♠ said it:

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

So close and yet so far.  Every morning, at the beginning of school, we would all stnd by our desks and say the "Our Father" in unison and I would find myself done before the rest of my classmates.

It's the Doxology.  So, when City Life Host George Anthes says "The Lord's Prayer" I don't know which he is talking about, and so far he has been reluctant to say.  Perhaps he will make a comment on this blog.  Perhaps he will say something on City Life.  Perhaps he will wait until the US Supreme Court rules on this issue.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Wenonah, New Jersey.  At the time a thoroughly WASP town, with just six Roman Catholic families, one Christian Science and no others.

Meeting the Needs of the People

For John, BLUF:  We didn't fix the problem today.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This post is about today's (Wednesday's) City Life show, which included as guests Messrs Jack Mitchell and Gerry Nutter.  The issue is Neighborhood Groups and Charter changes.

But, before we proceed, I must address some fraternal correction about my post which covered yesterday's edition of City Life.  It was pointed out to me, correctly, that in my previous blog post I focused on the question of the Plan A form of government, which is what suited my line of argument.  However, as was correctly pointed out to me, the guests on Tuesday talked about way more than the Plan A form of government.  In particular, they talked about our Mayor, Patrick Murphy, who has suggested that the Zoning Board of Appeals had been less than forthright in turning down the zoning for a Methadone Clinic.  The guests are not alone in this, in that Councilors Elliot and Mercier have raised questions about the Mayor's comments.  Former Mayor Rita Mercier was quoted by The [Lowell] Sun as saying:

To insinuate the ZBA members are on the take is a slap in their respective faces...

My apologies to any who felt I did not sufficiently cover Tuesday's show.

That said, I mentioned the Tuesday show to talk about how various proposals are being put forward to ensure better representation of the Residents of Lowell in our City Government.

Today, with Mr Jack Mitchell on, there was some discussion of his use of the term "Taliban" to describe the Neighborhood Groups.  That is to say, like the Taliban, the Neighborhood Groups show up to operate in areas where the local government is failing the citizens.  While some inside and outside Government may object to the characterization, it does serve a purpose.  It makes the point that in a dynamic society government is sometimes slow to adapt to ongoing changes and informal instruments are needed to help more formal instruments adapt.

The arguments were well laid out today, but what was missing, on the part of Host George Anthes, was a willingness to go beyond decrying the Neighborhood Groups to looking at what problems in Resident Communications exist and how those problems can be overcome.  While a Professor of Government, Mr Anthes was not prepared to analyze possible structural problems in the current government organization, wherein one or another group might feel left out.  Without such analysis, there was no going to step two, which would be to explore possible solutions, possible adaptations in the formal and informal structures to create better citizen involvement.

In sum, an opportunity lost.

Tomorrow is likely to be all about GLTHS.

Regards  —  Cliff

"Print the Legend"

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes it is hard, but we have to keep digging for the facts.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

This blog doesn't generate much interest, in that it is not focused on local politics and personalities.  Again on City Life this AM the discussion was about Left in Lowell and Gerry Nutter's Lowell.  Dick Howe and I were left out.  Actually, that isn't all bad.  What is it Bill Taupier says, "Blogging is the most important thing unimportant people do."?  And, he is correct.  And that is why the freedom to blog is so important.  It represents a conversation amongst the unimportant people, the ones who collectively elect people to office and sustain them in office by their tacit support.♠  But, that isn't the focus of this blog post.

The focus of this blog post is the question of non-partisan opinion.  At a blog of the Federation of American Scientists is an article on the Congressional Research Service and the question of non-partisan research and support to the US Congress.  The title is "Behind the Scenes at the Congressional Research Service".  Already it doesn't sound good.

The article discusses a former CRS Director, Daniel Mulhollan, and two of his employees, retired AF Col. Morris Davis♥ and retired long term CRS analyst Richard F. Grimmett.  Both show that non-partisan does not mean finding some wimpy middle of the road position.  On the other hand, I believe it means learning how to disagree without being disagreeable.  There is a difference between believing someone is wrong on an issue and believing they are stupid, evil, corrupt or otherwise a person of no consequence.

Sergeant Joe Friday says it the best—"Just the facts, ma'am".♦

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Tacit support is what Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi lost on the streets of Cairo and other places, resulting in his being replaced by the Mamluks, the tradition Egyptian arbiters of Government.
♥  Like City Life's own George Anthes, Colonel Moe Davis was an Air Force lawyer, a JAG.  I believe Colonel Davis now teaches at Howard University.
♦  Well, it seems he never actually said that, but that is what millions of people think he said.  "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

City Life Reviewed, Monday, 13 May 2013

For John, BLUF:  More on yesterday's City Life show.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

On yesterday morning's City Life Show there were a number of issues touched on that need to be retouched before bedtime.  I mentioned the canard about Nixon and the IRS in this Blog Post, earlier today.

I was disappointed that Ms Marie Sweeney was so disparaging of New York Times Columnist Maureen Dowd, who Sunday wrote "When Myths Collide in the Capital" for the International Herald Tribune.  She seemed to see MoDo as just another Republican Operative.  As a Republican, while I very much enjoy Ms Dowd's writing, I definitely see here on the Democratic Party side of things, although being someone with a fair mind, she sometimes acknowledges when Democrats go off the rails.  I think this weekend's MoDo piece is worth reading.

Then there was reference to former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his defense of the non-response on the part of the US to the attack on our facilities in Benghazi.  One headline read "Gates:  Benghazi-obsessed Republicans have ‘cartoonish’ view of military capability".

I wish to be clear here.  I do not believe we had military assets (or CIA assets) that could have intervened in the battle in time to make a difference.  At the same time, I believe there should have been a lot more "leaning forward in the foxhole" kinds of activities.  I was disappointed that forces were not moving, just in case this fire fight lasted longer than its eight to ten hours.

Here is a comment from a friend of mine, Janice, a retired Foreign Service Officer:

Secretary Gates has missed three big points.  First, as a former diplomat with no pin stripe suit I served in difficult places.  My son was evacuated three times.  We all believed that our government would (1) never negotiate our release if taken hostage and (2) our government would do all possible to help if we were seriously threatened.  As someone who had the privilege of working closely at times with our special military units, I do not have a "cartoon" impression of their capabilities or commitment.  I believe that some groups actually prepare to operate in a relative unknown environment.  I could be wrong.  Maybe things have changed.  Finally, can anyone tell me that we had no idea what the situation on the ground in Benghazi was?  I also have some faith in our intel capabilities.

Again, maybe am wrong.

Finally, we look weak, divided, and whiny.  Our enemies had better be sure that their actions have consequences.  Our friends ought to know the same.  Where was the Libyan Government support, for example?  If we are going to play in the big league, we have to at times demonstrate force and this was one of those times.  The world is not a kinder and more gentle place.

In at least one forum I read there was displeasure at the overcautious approach of our Government in this situation.

Recall then-Secretary Panetta's statement to reporters (as quoted in the New York Times of October 25, 2012):

The basic principle is that you don’t deploy forces into harm’s way without knowing what’s going on, without having some real-time information about what’s taking place.

Aren't we all glad our local police [and firemen] don't adhere too closely to that principle?

There are some lessons lost in the past.  After North Korea captured the USS PUEBLO (23 January 1968) or they shot down an EC-121 (15 April 1969) the US Air Forces in Europe instituted a program to respond in defense of our Reconnaissance forces in international waters or airspace in Europe.  Air Defense Aircraft were part of the response, as had always been the case for when Warsaw Treaty Organization helicopters harassed our own helicopters on the Inter-German Border (CREEK BALL).

To that was added an Air-to-Surface Capability (bombs and rockets), which we aircrews informally named "The Hook".  The long pole in the tent was aircrew planning and mission briefing.  Even on a weekend, the aircraft maintenance personnel would be able to "generate" the needed aircraft and the munitions personnel would be able to assemble the needed bombs and load them on available aircraft in a couple of hours.  But what about assembly of the aircrews?  In the years before cell phones, if an aircrew member left home for shopping in Trier (think going to Burlington) or lunch or dinner in Luxembourg (think going to Andover), he was out of touch until he came home. The solution to the "long pole" was to select aircrews currently on the base, sitting Victor Alert, to begin the planning effort.  In the mean time, personnel off duty would be recalled to suit up and assume the Alert role.  After a couple of hours (I don't remember the actual timelines) Bitburg Air Base would have four aircraft ready to launch out to attack surface targets in defense of Americans under attack.  Of course they weren't going very far without air refueling.  But, it was something.

Of course there was still the question of what they would pick for aim points.  But, just showing up might have been a factor in a situation of confusion.  One of the impacts of airpower is at the psychological level.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Song Comes to Mind

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes one thing leads to another in one's mind, setting up a string of connections.

Today on City Life we had Host George Anthes, Tyngsboro Co-Host Linda Bown and, as guest, Mr Jack Mitchell.  Early in the show Host George Anthes brought up an earlier post on this blog, "The Raucous Internet", dealing with free speech issues.  It was one that Guest Jack Mitchell had commented on, mentioning, inter alia, Ms Deb Forgione.  One of the issues was a "colorful" comment Jack, who was on from 6:00 to 7:30,♠ made about Ms Forgione.  In explaining that he meant to use the words he used, Jack said about his youth "we were rough and rowdy guys", which reminded me of a song:

When we were kids on the corner of the street
We were rough 'n ready guys
But oh, how we could harmonize

Do you think Jack can sing?

The song is "Heart of My Heart".

And, you can catch this morning's show this afternoon from 1600 to 1800 (4:00 to 6:00 PM ROTC Time).

UPDATE:  Why yes, I did update this post, this overcast 13th of January, 2013, putting an apostrophe in "morning's", in the para above.  This came about because some SPAM writing machine tried to post a comment over night.  It failed, but I felt I had to check.  Something about Gucci Japan sales.  If you are interested, EMail me and I will send you a copy.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Ms Deb Forgione called in after Jack left for work to ask to be booked on the show to express her concerns of bullying and bad taste vs free speech.