Just Fix The Problem!

Benghazi.  What a mess.  I've posted about it several times, the latest being here.  As I feared the focus has moved into the political realm.  Now it's all about fixing blame and seeking advantage.  Who said what and when.  Who can be blamed for posturing, dissembling, deflecting.   I guess it was inevitable, but disappointing none the less.

There's a pretty good analysis by Steve Donnelly at Tom Ricks Blog at FP.  Not sure I agree with all of it but I think the bottom line is that our diplomats are doing the nation's work in some very dangerous places around the world and deserve support and protection.  They can investigate all they want to discover the intricate details of that night which are probably not discoverable.  They can express outrage and regret.  But they can't change the fact that those guys were hung out to dry.  By bureaucrats in the State Dept and NSC.  I guess the best we can hope for is for the lesson to be learned.  And a very tough lesson it was.

Friday Funnies

Too Bad

If I would've won Powerball tonight I was going to invite all my blog friends to take a ride on my new yacht!  And that was only for starters!!

Wait A Minute

In my post immediately below I forgot about the other side, or as I like to call them, the dark side.  Here's their field:

Once again, buckets:

NO, NO, NO--Joe
Inevitable--Bubba's wife

Too Soon?

Three weeks after the election and the post mortems have been coming hot and heavy.  Everyone has an opinion on what went wrong, what to do now, what direction to go, etc, etc, etc.  Pretty silly.  But so what.  It's sorta fun.  So here's the generally accepted field:

My take at this early point?  Well, I can only do big buckets:

NO, NO, HELL NO--Bachmann, Bush, Perry, Santorum
I Think Maybe YES--Ayotte, Haley, Jindal, Martinez, Paul, Rubio
Maybe but not sure---The rest of them

It will be a fun four years.

Pet Peeve Wednesday

I travel a fair bit for my job and we like to hit the road when we can and have time.  This year I have about 130,000 miles on United.  Not earthshattering but not bad.  I've got all the airport procedures down to a science.  I get all the TSA concerns.  I dutifully remove my shoes, change, belt, toiletries, laptop, etc, etc, etc.  (although I don't have to do that in most other countries).  Going through the scanners is a pain, but not a big deal.  Like I said, I get the concerns.  Once through security it's on to the boarding area to wait.  I've gotten pretty good at timing it so that the wait isn't too long.  Because of my status I'm in the first group to board.  So I schlep my stuff, get it stored and settle in for the pre-takeoff routine.

Which brings me to this week's pet peeve.  I would really like to meet the moron who decided that the energy of a cell phone will impact a modern jet's electronics.  And things like Kindles and head phones with on/off switches must be turned off.   Not that I'm so important that I have to stay connected or can't wait a few minutes until we get to 10,000 feet, but the flying waitresses/waiters make it seem like life as we know it will cease if any piece of electronics is left on during takeoff.  I mean, come on.  These folks need to get a grip.  It's an idiotic requirement that is incredibly annoying.

Inspiration Monday

Done

Just when you think it can't get any worse...it does.  The Chargers lost to the Ravens in overtime and looked terrible for most of the game.  They essentially gave the game away.  With less than 2 minutes  to go the Ravens had 4th and 29.  Hold them and the Chargers win.  But the Ravens somehow got a first down.  Unbelievable.  They then got a field goal to tie it and go to overtime.  And of course they won in overtime.  Mind boggling!  

The Chargers are now 4-7 and have no chance at the playoffs.  That's probably a good thing because they would just embarrass themselves.  If AJ Smith and Norv survive we will know there is no interest in winning football games in Charger ownership.

The NFL last week declared that games could be played in the Rose Bowl until the new stadium is ready in L.A.   Now the speculation begins in earnest about them moving up there.  And this time it might not be so far fetched...

What He Said

I have a definite love-hate relationship with the columnist David Brooks.  At times he infuriates me with his writing.  Other times I think he is spot on.  This week is, I think, one of his best columns.  It also provides me with good validation regarding what it means to be a professional writier.  I started this blog to share some opinions, provide some commentary, and have a bit of fun.  But I'm not a professional writer.  When I read some of the stuff by Brooks, Peggy Noonan, and others it makes me realize how difficult that job would be.  And how great they are organizing thoughts, keeping a logical flow, and making the reader really feel what they are trying to say.

This week Brooks' column in the New York Times is titled "Why We Love Politics".  It is all about the recently released movie, Lincoln.  I posted about this last week.  But I wasn't close to expressing the texture of the movie, the message, the meaning when compared with his column.

It (Lincoln) shows that you can do more good in politics than in any other sphere. You can end slavery, open opportunity and fight poverty. But you can achieve these things only if you are willing to stain your own character in order to serve others — if you are willing to bamboozle, trim, compromise and be slippery and hypocritical.

I think most people view politics as a rough and tumble, very dirty business.  And it is.  But, it is also an endeavor that can deeply impact people and if the politician can achieve positive results, it must be very rewarding.  Of course, Hollywood and the media has their own spin that has influenced people to take a very cynical view.  To be a politician has become almost a dirty word.  And yet we still pay huge attention at every election to who we elect to represent us at every level...local, state and federal.  And that is because the actions they take can directly impact our lives.

The movie also illustrates another thing: that politics is the best place to develop the highest virtues. Politics involves such a perilous stream of character tests: how low can you stoop to conquer without destroying yourself; when should you be loyal to your team and when should you break from it; how do you wrestle with the temptations of fame — that the people who can practice it and remain intact, like Lincoln, Washington or Churchill, are incredibly impressive.

Brooks describes the evolution of a leader in a brilliant manner...from Gettysburg to the Second Inaugural Address.  From stating a grand vision to doing the incredibly difficult and lonely tasks demanded of leadership.  The movie eloquently shows Lincoln struggling with compromising his own views for the greater good, deciding that the 13th Amendment was so important that the war had to be extended.  It was very powerful and not a fairy tale.  It was real.  And doing that further built the character of our greatest President and led him to write what is generally regarded as one of the best speeches ever written, his Second Inaugural Address.  If you've never read it, here it is.  And for goodness sake, if you haven't seen this brilliant movie, go see it!

Second Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln 

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1865

Fellow-Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

Bond...James Bond

We went to see the new James Bond film "Skyfall" this afternoon.  It was everything you expect a Bond film to be.  Good guys against bad guys.  Lots of shootem-up.  Amazing feats.  Returning from certain doom.  Deadpan understatement from 007 in the face of impossible circumstances.  Cool gadgets from Q.  And of course the obligatory Bond girl.  Ooh La La!  All in all a very fun movie that provided great escapism for two and a half hours.

At the end they flashed up that 2012 marked 50 years of Bond films.  Huh?  Could this be true?  Well, like everything we have a question about we fired up Google and sure enough, there have been 23 films over 50 years.

Official James Bond films

1. Dr. No (1962-Sean Connery)
2. From Russia With Love (1963-Sean Connery)
3. Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery)
4. Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery)
5. You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby)
7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery)
8. Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore)
9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore)
10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore)
11. Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore)
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981-Roger Moore)
13. Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore)
14. A View to a Kill (1985-Roger Moore)
15. The Living Daylights (1987-Timothy Dalton)
16. Licence to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton)
17. GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan)
18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan)
19. The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan)
20. Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan)
21. Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig)
22. Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig)
23. Skyfall (2012-Daniel Craig)

Of course now we need to play the favorite parlor game when it comes to Bond Films.  Which movie was your favorite?  Which Bond was your favorite?  How many Bond films have your seen.  And of course, who's your favorite Bond girl?  Have fun!

Friday Funnies

Thankful

It's been said and it's so true that we have so much to be thankful for.  Family and friends.  Trust in God.  Work and play.  Living in freedom.  And so much more.  Here in So Cal it is a perfect day.  70 degrees and cloudless.  We spent a few hours walking on the beach (our favorite activity) and now are prepping for family to arrive for a wonderful afternoon of fun, food, and enjoying each other's company.  So thankful that part of my family is local and very thankful that my son and his family are together with his wife's wonderful family on the East coast.  All in all, no complaints.

These guys are thankful too.  Thankful to be together.  Thankful that they have families, loved ones, and strangers back home supporting them.  And thankful to be part of the thin line between freedom and tyranny.  We all owe them a lot.  The least we can do is today to offer a special prayer for their safe return and hope that we always have people in our midst willing to lay it all on the line for freedom.  God Bless them all.

Man...I'm Getting Hungry!

The Focus Is Wrong

As I feared, the focus on the disaster at Benghazi has waned.  Also as I feared, it's become political.  Now the focus is on who said what.  What talking points were changed.  Why was Susan Rice sent out to give the message.  Which intel officer decided not to blame terrorists.  The outrage in the Congress is clearly aimed at blaming someone (in the other political party) for screwing up the talking points.  And the media is going along.  If it weren't for this part of the story, they would have moved on several weeks ago.  But when they smell blood in the water, they will perk up.  And blood in the water is the fall of an individual.

But the focus is wrong.  The unanswered question that I posed in my very first post on this debacle, was why weren't the guys on the ground provided the support they asked for.  I continue to be frustrated that there were American's on the ground in a place like Libya asking for help and they didn't get it.  And they didn't get it because some bureaucrat said no.  That's unacceptable.  As in most things, it probably comes down to budget.  Simply put, the State Department, doesn't have enough.  At some point, we need to recognize the kind of world we live, the kind of threats we face, the need for response in a different way.  Maybe we need to buy a few less Joint Strike Fighters and more armed unmanned aerial vehicles.  Maybe we need to buy fewer big deck aircraft carriers and more Amphibious ships and high speed support ships that can act as floating Special Forcs bases.  Maybe we need to buy a few less tanks and more of the kind of weapons that can support up close and personal fighting.  And maybe instead of the long tail that the military and State department employs, maybe we ought to hire a few more Special Operators or para-military types that can protect our diplomats in far off places.

Pet Peeve Wednesday

I've been driving since my 16th birthday.  Went down to DMV, passed the test, and headed out.  And it opened a whole new world.  Mobility equals freedom.  Of course, like everyone I've had a few tickets, a few accidents, a few close calls.  I've always tried to follow the rules of the road.  Tried to be courteous.

Which brings me to this week's pet peeve.  Why do slow drivers drive in the fast lane?  It's one of life's major perplexities.  If you look at any driver's manual, you'll see it right there in black and white.  Slower drivers should move to the right.  So why don't they?  I don't get it.  So if you're a slow driver (and you know who you are) have the decency to move to the right.

Life Has Changed

If you've reading my blog, you know I'm a retired Naval Officer and work for an aerospace company.  So I have more than a passing interest in what is going on in the Navy and still have a lot of connections with the Navy.  We've seen a lot of cultural upheaval in the last decade and it isn't over.

During the last several months and years we've seen an increase in the number of Commanding Officers being fired, and there have been a variety of reasons.  The latest is reported here.  People who know me and know my background have asked my opinion about what is going on.  Of course every situation is different and there have been many different reasons for the firings.  Reading between the lines of many of the reports it was usually either an improper relationship or some sort of leadership failure.   Some of my contemporaries have said, and I agree, that it's a good thing that they can't retroactively fire us because in the "good old days" a lot of shenanigans went on.

Many people of my vintage believe that it's political correctness gone rampant.  That the Officers who had to take the extraordinary step of firing a C.O. are just covering their a$$.  That its the fault of integration of women.  Or the demise of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  Or some other systemic failure of the culture.

I don't buy it.  I can remember like it was yesterday when, during my last few years in the Navy, the ban on women in front line units was lifted.  There was considerable outrage.  Predictions of doom.  The military was going "to hell in a hand basket".   They could never do the job.   Some even decided to leave.  My memory of my reaction is also clear.  I believed then and still believe that it was a change, that the change would have to be managed, but that the American people wanted this change and it was up to those in the military to manage.  Would it change how we interacted with each other? Absolutely.  Would it change the culture?  Definitely.  But would it be better?  When I left the jury was out.  But no more.  I don't think you'd find many in today's Navy that don't accept women as part of the culture. I have to say that the majority of woman I've met in the Navy in the last few years has impressed me with her leadership, humanity, and professionalism.  I suspect the same is true for the demise of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.  But it's pretty new so once again the jury is still out.  But I can say that I've heard a ton of people in the Navy say their attitude is Don't Know, Don't Care.

So if we've had this sea change, why all the firings.  I think two things.  First, there are still some who are members (or wannabes) of the "good ol boy" club.  They know how things used to be.  They know how they'd like things to be.  They mistakenly think that their status as CO gives them a pass.  At some point they find out the hard way that they are wrong.  In this day and age, there are no second chancs.  People talk about Nimitz running his ship aground as a Lieutenant and surviving to go on to 5 stars.  There are other similar stories.  That was then.  This is now.  The second is that there are always some bad apples who make it through.  In my time there were always guys in command who never should have made it and guys who never made it but would have been wonderful Commanding Officers.  The system is what it is and it does a pretty good job of selecting only the "best and brightest".  But some bad eggs still make it through.

The fact of the matter is that the people of the Navy today are the best we've ever seen.  They are smarter, more ambitious, more inquisitive, and more focused than ever.  I might even go so far to say they are better pilots, but that would be pretty difficult for me.  To lead this group, it takes only the best that we have.  There can be no let down.  A CO today has to be on his or her game 24/7.  I'm sure some of these firings were the result of a good person who, for whatever reason, forgot the tenants of command for a short period of time.  And it bit them.

But I think something else is true.  In 2012 our society has evolved.  What was acceptable just a few short decades ago, is now a killer.  For old guys like many of my friends it's a tough pill to swallow.  They yearn for the good old days. Those days were good.  They were fun.  They were inspirational.  They drove an incredible bonding of men going to war.  Those days are gone...

Inspiration Monday

Lincoln

If you've followed my blog at all you've seen some posts on my interest (Mrs Mike would say obsession?) with all things about the Civil War.  I've studied that era pretty extensively, read voraciously, visited many battlefields and museums, and just generally can't get enough of trying to figure it out.

So it should come as no surprise that we went to see the new movie "Lincoln" tonight.  Now I'm not one to gush over movies, especially with all the shenanigans of the Hollywood crowd in recent years.  Most of them really piss me off.  But that's a whole other blog topic.  I don't very often pay to go to movies.  I'm usually pretty happy to wait until they come out on pay-per-view so I can get some small bit of satisfaction by not giving them full payment.  But, not on point.

The point is that I thought this was a very well done movie.  I thought Speilberg nailed it.  The story was compelling.  You could just feel the texture of the movie.  The characters were very well developed.  Lincoln, Seward, Grant, Stevens, and a host of others were totally believable.  The torment that Lincoln felt was palpable.  As I have said, I'm a Civil War junkie, but I was kept spellbound the whole movie.

Going in I wondered what aspect of Lincoln's presidency they would focus on.  The fight to get the 13th Amendment passed was a perfect story for this movie.  It was supremely difficult and contentious.  The fight went down to the wire.  It took cajoling, convincing, building alliances, pandering, and even some bribing.  Both sides were dug in.  Both sides were passionate about their beliefs.  Both sides predicted doom if the other side won.  Lincoln had to be dedicated, persuasive, knowledgable, compromising, and self-assured of the rightness of his mission.  Even though we all know how it turns out, it was riveting.

I came away with three overwhelming thoughts.  First, those who say that what we're experiencing today is the worst partisanship in our history don't know history.  That those who say we are at a cataclismic point and that the republic is in danger don't know history.  Second, that the 24-hour media cycle exacerbates everything we see in politics today.  Nothing new there, but it keeps getting more distressing.  Third, that either Obama doesn't have the ability or the desire to exercise the kind of leadership needed in a President to get difficult things done.  He is good at rhertoric, but short on action.  I kept thinking that if we had the kind of President who would exercise the kind of Presidential leadership displayed in the movie, we wouldn't be in the difficult position we find ourselves as a nation.  Of course, it takes two to tango.  The Congressional leadership certainly hasn't been world class.  I think Pelosi, Boehner, Reid, McConnell, et. al. could exercise a lot more leadership when it comes to solving our problems.  But most of it is on the President.  He has the bully pulpit.  He is the most powerful leader in the world.  A good and accepted definition of leadership is getting people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't want to do.  I don't see any of that in Obama...

They Are Now Officially Pathetic

Good news, bad news for the Charger game today.  The good news is that we went to the movies so I missed the fourth quarter.  The bad news is that it is obvious that they are awful!  I mean just awful!  And I still don't put it on Rivers.  It's not him, it's the offensive line.  And Matthews.  And the ineffective linebackers.  And mostly...the Coach.  I don't see any other explanation.  He has to go!!

A Surprise For Lunch

I can still remember it.  When I was a kid I took my lunch to school.  Most days anyway.  My Mom made a great lunch.  She knew what I liked.  The sandwiches were yummy.  Usually some chips.  Maybe an apple or orange.  And every once in a while for a special treat...a Hostess Cupcake.  Sometimes a Snowball but she knew I liked Cupcakes the best.  When I opened my lunch and saw that there was a Hostess Cupcake included, all was right with the world.  We were always trading stuff, but I rarely traded a cupcake.  Maybe with my Italian friend who's Mom made the best sandwiches with all kinds of exotic meats (and then only a small piece of sandwich).  But that was it!

So now I open up the fishwrap this morning and read the sad story of the demise of Hostess.  Lots of joking done today about the hording of hostess products.  Funny little blurbs on the news.  One of the local stations even had one of their talking heads go out and buy a bunch of Hostess products and sample them on air.  Like we needed to be reminded about Twinkies, Cupcakes, Snowballs, Ho Ho's, Donettes, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread to name a few.  Now they are gone.  The conventional wisdom is that someone will come along, buy the recipes and rights, and we'll see them on the shelves before you know it.  But it won't be the same.  Just won't.  Now I know that this stuff isn't good for you.  That they are full of sugar and preservatives.  That if you eat too many/too much, you'll wind up looking like a favorite cartoon character from my youth, Porky Pig.  But there is just something sorta iconic about the brand.  And I'm sorry to see them go.

But the larger story is why.  Lots of blame to go around.  As usual...he said, she said.  There's a pretty good explanation of both sides here.  Some say bad management and greedy Wall Streeters.  Some say union thugs demanding too much.  I think that there are several contributors.  Hostess probably didn't respond too well to the newly health concious America.  Maybe they could have diversified their products a bit better.  They got in trouble financially during the boom years.  Generous salaries.  Perks.  Overly generous pensions.  And they couldn't walk it back.  Not with a union lurking nearby.  So finally a couple of hedge funds come in to do what hedge funds do.  Identify a distressed company.  Buy the stock.  Come in a squeeze out ineffeciencies.  Put in your management team.  Look for opportunities to grow the company.  Streamline.  But not all those endeavors work.  And it sounds like this one was a long shot from the beginning.  For it to work would mean the stars would have to align.  And that alignment includes labor.  Meanwhile, the union idiots only want more.  The bosses demand, demand, demand.  No concessions.  Don't let the scabs cross the line.  So the hedge funds finally give up.  They could keep trying but not in the face of determined opposition.  The employees can't say they weren't warned.  The company was clear that without concessions they would close.  And they did.  And 18,500 people are out of a job.  So just how is it better that the company closes and all those people lose their jobs rather than take some concessions?  I've not seen any statistics on salaries or benefits. But I'd bet that conditions and salaries weren't so bad that it warranted the loss of 18,500 jobs.

So another one bites the dust.  It isn't new.  It isn't earth shattering.  Life will go on.  But I will always have a soft spot in my heart when I remember opening the bag and seeing the cupcake...