Month: November 2011

AA Goes Bust – I See the USA in my Chevrolet

AA Goes Bankrupt

I suppose greed both on the part of upper management and on the unions contributed to this dramatic decline in commercial air travel. Personally, it isn’t their greed that motivates me to drive cross country – business trips two years in a row, Orlando in 2010, Phoenix this year. Disrespect for passengers and flight crews by airline executives, compounded by “Security Theater”, a consequence of the unpatriotic “Patriot Act” changed the air travel experience from good to “it sucks” bad. It’s the uncomfortable flying experience that motivates me to drive.

True, the unpatriotic “Patriot Act” wasn’t the sole agent of profound disrespectful treatment of passengers and crew members. Along the way, Air Marshalls came into play to thwart hijackings (as in D.B. Cooper). Next we had to endure the agony of the precursor to TSA, ignorant security thugs and nonsensical new travel rules.

Today, pilots and other crew members have to endure the same humiliating, invasive and unconstitutional searches and seizures passengers go through. Don’t you ever ask yourself, “Who has a more vested interest in a safe flight than the pilot?”

As far as I’m concerned, every airline can go bankrupt. Afterward, perhaps civility and respect for people will be restored. Until then, the only time I fly is when I travel abroad on mission trips, and ONLY then.

I Remember When

Back in 1967, when I began travelling by air, life was good – really good. All one needed to get on an airplane was m-o-n-e-y, cash or check. Yes, airlines would accept personal checks and, no, there was no way to instantly verify them.

Furthermore, do you know we didn’t even have to give our correct names? That’s right. Come to think of it, how does knowing your name contribute to the safety of the passengers? Oh, that’s right; we don’t care about passengers, do we? Let’s just make sure we cram the plane by scooting seats closer together and overbooking.

Passengers were segregated in two classes. Yes, we actually used the word “class”, not cabin. Stewardesses (yes, they were all women and good looking, too) seated us common folk in second class with smokers occupying the latter one-third to one-half seats, back where the wash rooms were.

High rollers, the people with Carta Blanche, American Express or Diners Club cards, enjoyed more intimate and luxurious first class seating up front. They even had their own ‘privy’. How bad was second class?

It wasn’t. If you knew how things worked, you could order special meals when making reservations. You know, kosher, vegetarian, seafood, etc.

The Best Parts of Flying “Back Then”

What was the best part? The best part was the extreme service. Stewardesses, ticket agents and baggage handlers treated passengers as though we were valuable customers or something like that.

The food was actually good and the silverware was silverware, not plastic. Need something special? Just push the button and they would bend over backwards to make you happy. Shucks, the pilot would even greet passengers, sometimes walk the aisle to shake hands or answer questions.

After Mount St. Helens blew her top and it was again safe to fly near her, a Delta pilot with whom I spoke offered to take us over the mountain, if he could get permission from ATC, He did and we did. What a sight looking down into a mammoth crater above the clouds. A new lava dome rose from the floor of the crater over 800 feet.

Where Are We Now?

If you buy a one-way ticket, you are a potential terrorist. If you pay cash for a one-way ticket, ticket agents will call the cops. Why? Simple, really. You see, every citizen, contrary to the Fourth Amendment, is suspect. Who knows? 90 year-old Granny just might actually have an AR-15 or C-4 in her knitting bag. Knitting bag? “Alright, old lady, move away from the knitting needles.”

A Personal Note to AA and Other Airlines

Lousy service, disrespectful treatment of the flying public and your unwillingness to trust passengers and crew members are the main contributors to fewer people flying and profits going down the toilet.

Not one with firsthand knowledge about labor relations at AA, but I imagine lack of trust and disrespectful treatment significantly contribute to the attitudes of union members.

C. R. Smith, what would you do? Although he was first president of AA, when WW2 broke out, Mr. Smith joined the U. S. Army to form the Air Transport Command, later called the Air Force Military Airlift Command. C. R. Smith was one of many of “The Greatest Generation”. No, I don’t know what he would do today, if he were alive, but I suspect life would be very different for American Airlines, its employees and passengers.

What people constitute the TEA Party? – Open Rebuke of Colin Powell

Here in Rockwall County, TEA Party participants are moms, dads, grandparents, young single adults, business owners, lawyers, doctors, nurses, oil men – patriots all. And they always VOTE.

Collectively and singularly, we are a people who know the Declaration of Independence, love and revere the U.S. Constitution, can quote the Bill of Rights and we read the Federalist Papers.

We know that our federal government was founded by wise men who called on the Living God, the Creator of the Universe for guidance. In other words, we know our Judeo-Christian heritage and the role of faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the establishment and preservation of this, the greatest nation in the history of the world. We know also that sin is a reproach to any people and unless we repent of our sins, singularly and collectively, the wrath of God falls on us.

Last week, Colin Powell (remember him?) attributed partisan division in Washington on us. Specifically, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN, he said this:

Colin Powell Endorsed Barack Hussein Obama in 2008

“Compromise is how this country was founded, and unless two people in disagreement with each other don’t find a way to reach out to one another and make compromises, you don’t get a consensus that allows you to move forward.

But the Tea Party point of view of no compromise whatsoever is not a point of view that will eventually produce a presidential candidate who will win.”

True, our history is rife with compromise – compromise of principles. For example, the Great Compromiser Henry Clay successfully delayed start of the Civil War at least ten years. And what was the fruit of that compromise? More of our people died in that dreadful war than the sum total of our war dead from all other wars fought under our flag from the Revolution to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today, the compromise Mr. Powell promotes is a budget compromise. It’s helpful to understand what compromise means in this context. It means conservative Republicans should roll over and play dead so the far-left Democrats and a president of questionable citizenship accumulate more debt.

At this point in time, our national debt approaches total gross domestic product (GPD). When and where should we compromise, Mr. Powell? Obviously, Mr. Powell, who endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, is “color blind”.

Now is the time to stop accumulating debt that our children and grandchildren will never, ever pay off. Crippling debt will enslave our people forever.

I ask you to contact your Congressional delegation and encourage them to demand NO NEW TAXES, REDUCED SPENDING and LESS GOVERNMENT REGULATION.

Below link takes you to the interview with Colin Powell by Christiane Amanpour.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/27/colin-powell-blames-media-and-tea-party-divisive-tone-washington

Don’t Despair – Hope is There

WANTED ALIVE

An American society that, believes in God, loves life, respects the Constitution, is knowledgeable of our history, respects the elderly, honors mother and father, cares for the poor, respects authority, embraces honesty and hard work, and is wholly committed to the institution of Biblically sound marriage.

Too Much To Ask?

Browsing Netflix movie titles, I pass over a lot of “R’s” before I find one suitable for my bride and me. A former Rockwall City Council member was heard recently speaking profane epithets audible to several citizens while City Council was underway. Preachers refer in their sermons to scenes from obscene movies as life lessons. School children speak coarse language formerly heard in my hometown of Palacios only in the company of roughnecks. Pharmaceutical producers of sexual performance enhancements and manufacturers of contraceptive materials openly advertise on TV and radio, even during hours when children are sure to hear and see things children shouldn’t hear and see.

Nothing New

More than 900 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, King Solomon made this observation.

  The thing that has been–it is what will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun.Ecclesiastes 1:9  

Perhaps you know William Wilberforce, British Member of Parliament, who bravely and successfully fought for many years to abolish slavery. He had another cause célèbre – the ‘reformation of manners’. According to Christianity Today, he conceived of a society that would work, as a royal proclamation put it, “for the encouragement of piety and virtue; and for the preventing of vice, profaneness, and immorality.”

The cycle of sin is nothing new. Spiritual “ups and downs” characterize recorded human history from the beginning of time.

What’s the Cure?

Legislation doesn’t work. It didn’t work for Wilberforce 220 years ago. Prohibition was utter failure. How about the so-called “War on Drugs”? How has that worked for us? Today, as a percentage of population, America incarcerates more people than any other nation on the face of the earth and most incarcerations are drug related.

There is a Cure

His name is Jesus. God came to us in the form of a man so He could communicate with us peer to peer. It is not the will of God that we perish, but it is the will of God that we should be like trees of righteousness planted alongside rivers of living water, giving forth fruit in our season, to be known as “the planting of the Lord”. He wishes to exchange the oil of gladness for our mourning, a garment of praise to replace a spirit of despair, and give us a crown of beauty for ashes.

It’s not the will of God that we should perish, but that we should have eternal life. For this cause, God sent his only begotten son to take upon himself our sins, sicknesses and our sorrows. His name is Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God. We know him as Jesus, savior of the world.

  For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([a]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

John 3:16-17 Amplified Bible

  

Here in North Texas we’re running out of water. Honeybees vital to food production are mysteriously dying off. Daily, ominous economic news foretells global economic collapse. All the while, Middle East war seems certain.

Choices – Good and Bad

The Bad: On the one hand, if we yield to atheists who strive to erase the name of God from public life, we can take the broad way to hell where your maggot never dies and the fire is not put out.

Or,

We can take the narrow way to eternal life with the Lamb of God. For reasons of this devastating drought and growing societal profanity, I suggest having faith in God who promised relief for such a time as this.

  If I shut up heaven so no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

  

My Story

August of 1974, 37 years ago, my wife and I had two young boys and a third due to be born in November. I was unemployed and we were rapidly running out of savings, when I admitted to my wife I didn’t know what to do. She knew what to do. In short order, I came to faith in Jesus Christ who miraculously healed me from hypertension and delivered me. In no time at all, I was gainfully employed with a great company. It was an amazing experience.

What’s going to be your story?

I encourage you to find a Bible-believing church. Ask God to reveal Jesus to you and then ask him to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Never before in our brief American history have we experienced perilous times such as we are about to go through. Believe in God and believe in his Son whom he sent to die on the cross for your sins.

  My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.1 John 4:7-10 The Message Bible  

 

28 Years Later – Orwell Was Right

Rafael’s Story

Unimaginable – the very idea that troops would turn on American citizens, arrest them, and imprison them without warrants or due process. Yet, there he was in room 101, living out his worst fear. Unlike the character Winston in George Orwell’s 1984, Rafael was neither strapped to a chair nor immobilized. Nonetheless, he was living out his worst fear that a grandchild, a member of the US Army would arrest her own grandparents. “I’m just doing my job, Grandpa.” she explained.

After sometime, an interrogator quickly opened the door, entered briskly, read from a file, then looked over his glasses to ask, “Rafael Mendoza?” “Yes” he replied, “I am Rafael Mendoza. Why am I being held against my will and by what authority do you incarcerate me?”

“You are an enemy of the state, Rafael. This report I hold says you have a history of threatening the President of the United States. We know this because of cell phone records and comments made on your Facebook page. The government suspects you are a member of al-Qaida or similar enemy group.” the interrogator dispassionately stated.

Astonished, head reeling from the charges, Rafael responds, “How can this be? I’m a loyal American citizen of more than fifty years, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, a pastor of a small church. Which of my actions would suggest otherwise?”  

“Rafael, you were recorded on video demonstrating outside the gates of Fort Hood. Do you remember? Several people worked with you to distribute literature critical of the United States of America. How do you plead?” the interrogator asked.

“Plead? This is America. We have First Amendment rights to speak against government policies with which we disagree. I know my rights and I know you have no authority to hold me. I demand my Constitutional rights!” said Rafael, angrily.

“Enemy combatants don’t have Constitutional rights, Mr. Mendoza. You’re being held under authority of Sections 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA – the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011. We have legal authority to hold you indefinitely without charges and,” he added “The Department of Defense will try your case.”

Could Rafael’s Story Become Your Story?

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is “must pass” legislation in the U.S. Senate right now. If enacted as-is, sections 1031 and 1032 would

1)  Explicitly authorize the federal government to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others picked up inside and outside the United States;

2)  Mandate military detention of some civilians who would otherwise be outside of military control, including civilians picked up within the United States itself; and

(3)  Transfer to the Department of Defense core prosecutorial, investigative, law enforcement, penal, and custodial authority and responsibility now held by the Department of Justice.

Action Needed

Your US Senators need to hear from you now. Tell them to OPPOSE Sections 1031 and 1032 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Use this convenient contact form provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU.

Urge the Senate to Oppose Indefinite Military Detention

Fill out all the required fields and the ACLU will automatically send electronic messages to your two US Senators.

Keep in mind that this bill is so bad even President Obama and Eric Holder oppose it.

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to do nothing.

“Black Friday” – What’s in a name?

Throughout the year, retailers run on slim margins, often “in the red“. “Black Friday” is an accounting expression, not psycho-babel. It’s the day of the year when retailers, particularly the retail giants, move out of red ink into the black.

At this point in time, our actual unemployment rate is approximately 12.6%. One would assume workers would be eager to do whatever it takes to keep a job, wouldn’t you? Then, what’s to be said about a petition by a Target Stores employee to “save Thanksgiving“?

A building socialist storm threatens their existence. The Communist Party USA promises “a world where people and nature come before profits. That’s socialism. That’s our vision. We are the Communist Party USA.” Blindly ignorant socialists imagine a world free of capitalism. How does socialism differ from capitalism?

The differences are distinct and striking. A dictionary definition of socialism is “a political and economic THEORY of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole“. Why call socialism a theory? Simple: it’s NEVER been proven to work.

In contrast, the dictionary definition of capitalism is: “an economic and political SYSTEM in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state“.

Note key difference between socialism and capitalism – THEORY vs. SYSTEM.

Socialism will forever remain an economic and social theory. Nonetheless, socialism lives in America, a nation that has fought wars to preserve freedom, freedom socialists urgently wish to take away from you.

I offer the following links for your edification.

Fox News: Occupy-Inspired Campaign Urges Boycott of Black Friday

Communist Party USA Home Page

ACORN website Cloward-Piven Strategy

Meet the Teacher – Mentor and Confidant to Pres. Obama

For those too young to remember, back in the 60’s, there arose a subversive and violent group called the Weather Underground. Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn appeared on the scene as part of the anti-war movment, a movement that demanded immediate withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.

The Weather Underground evolved through the Revolutionary Youth Movement (RYM), a wing of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Along the way, Dohrn admitted she was “a revolutionary communist”. How does a popular high school cheerleader and honor student come to hate her country? I don’t know either, but she did and still does. Back to her husband.

EAG-TV (Education Action Group on YouTube) recently filmed Bill teaching Occupy Chicago protesters. A new generation of communists threaten your freedom? Communist and convicted domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, tutor and friend to your radical left president, Barack Hussein Obama, is mentoring a fresh batch of communists.

So, you thought communism died when the USSR collapsed? No and it’s very much alive here on our soil. Visit links below to learn more.

An Open Letter to Congressman Hall Regarding HR822

Congressman Ralph M. Hall
104 N. San Jacinto Street
Rockwall, Texas 75087-2508

Subject: H.R. 822 and how this bill imperils liberty

Dear Congressman Hall,

I previously expressed my opposition to subject bill in an article titled National Right to Carry Act – Why I Oppose HR 822. My opinion has not changed, despite intense support from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Texas State Rifle Association (TSRA). For the record, I am a member of the NRA and the TSRA.

According to my best information, at least 246 members of the House, Democrats and Republicans, co-sponsor this bill, including you. I deeply appreciate your long-standing and unwavering support of our Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms”. In this case (HR 822), I fear an unnecessary act of Congress will diminish our liberty, not reinforce it.

At present, thirty-four (34) of these United States have agreements of reciprocity with the great state of Texas. When an armed Texan visits Vermont, he or she needs no permit, because all law-abiding people, Vermont resident or not, may freely carry a concealed handgun. Therefore, we Texans already enjoy the liberty of carrying our weapons of self-defense in thirty-six (36) states, including Texas and Vermont.

As written, HR 822 has four fatal flaws (source: Gun Owners of America).

  1. H.R. 822 Destroys Vermont concealed carry
  2. H.R. 822 undermines Constitutional carry laws in states that model after Vermont.
  3. H.R. 822 provides no help to states with “may issue” laws, including California, Maryland and Massachusetts.
  4. H.R. 822 further expands the already grossly abused “Commerce Clause”.

(click on this link for more detail on these four points)

If this bill is to become law, I ask you in the strongest possible way to incorporate H.R. 2900, introduced by Representative Paul Broun (R-GA).

As a side note to fellow Texans in CD-4, I ask you to contact Congressman Hall’s office nearest you. Tell him to either oppose H.R. 822 or to support H.R. 2900. Here is a quick link to Congressman Hall’s offices: http://ralphhall.house.gov/

Sincerely,

John White
Rockwall, Texas

rcteaparty@gmail.com