Greece or Bust

We arrive at the Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia today. We will try to fly Space Available on a Navy plane today to one of the following posted destinations:

Brazil

Lajes, The Azore Islands, Portugal

Ramstein, Germany


Rota, Spain


Naples, Italy


Crete, Greece


Many of the planes are also going on to the middle east but Space A passengers are not permitted to go to these destinations. Otherwise we would try for one of these more exotic locations.

We will try for Crete, Greece. I will periodically post photos and updates on this blog when I can get to the internet and if I can figure out how to post from my IPAD.


http://travelhullinger.blogspot.com/

Norfolk is a former home of mine. I spent one year here when I was 18 doing a little volunteer social work in the inner city. I was also a Reserve Officer with CincLantFleet in the late 1980's. Norfolk is an interesting town.

Africa Command

The American effort in the no fly zone in Libya is led by U. S. Africa Command, a fairly new major command.


http://www.africom.mil/research.asp

Mar 20, 2011 — U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers positioned in

coalition military bases and U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B

Harriers aboard the USS Kearsarge (LHD3) launched

during the early hours in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn to enforce U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, which is centered on protecting Libyan citizens from any further harm from Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi's regime, March 20, 2011.

Don't Believe It

I am sure that all of us get outraged emails forwarded to us, describing the evil deeds of either:


1. Horrible Liberals, and or


2. Horrible Conservatives.


Many of them are rubbish, having been edited and changed so that they completely change the truth.


The one below is part of an outraged attack on a Ms. Cindy Williams, supposedly part of the Obama administration against pay raises for the military.


The truth according to Snopes is that she was a Federal official in 2000 who wrote about military pay raises.


Moral of the story - Don't believe everything you read, even it came on your computer. Before you forward it, check it out on Snopes.com or http://www.truthorfiction.com/ . People are mad enough in this country without getting mad for bogus reasons.
____


Email

If you get this more than once, Feel honored that you know more than one person who supports our Military and appreciates what they do.  If you don't forward it, you don't deserve Their sacrifice.     CINDY WILLIAMS was appointed by Obama as an Assistant Director for NATIONAL SECURITY in the Congressional Budget Office.....

Military Pay   

This is an Airman's Response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the Washington Times About MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all newspapers across America .    

Ms. Cindy William Wrote a piece for the Washington Times denouncing the pay raise(s) Coming service members' way this year citing that she stated a 13% wage increase was more than they deserve.

etc etc evil unpatriotic people screwing the military etc etc.

___________

The truth according to Snopes.com and Truthorfiction.com

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/gipay.asp 

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/c/cindywilliams.htm

No Fly Zone

The U.N. Security Council voted on Thursday to authorize 
a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" -- 
code for military action -- to protect civilians against leader 
Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Well, now we are in one more war in the Muslim Arab World. 
But the new one is in Africa, no Asia. Progress, I guess.



One good deal after another. But I suppose it was the right 
thing to do. Gaddafi is a very evil guy and was and perhaps 
is going to kill a lot of his people.

Still, it is interesting to see this develop. The left is so 
angry about Iraq and Aghanistan. And now we add Libya.


On the positive side I just yesterday reported on plans to 
down size the military and the Marine Corps. Now perhaps 
we won't do that. 


More Federal expenditures in a war and rebuilding 
effort in Libya will be part of the economic stimulus effort. 
Not so good for the deficit, however.


Click to read more.

Congressional District Map

I love the way our Statesmen design our political districts. Very logical? 

Click to see your Congressional District

Illinois

http://illinois.hometownlocator.com/maps/congressional-districts.cfm

California

http://florida.hometownlocator.com/maps/congressional-districts.cfm

To see your state replace Florida with the name of your State

American Tsunami Video

Click to see the video


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americans-in-japan-we-ran-for-our-lives/2011/03/15/AB2R0JY_modal.html?hpid=z8

Presidential Approval Poll

"The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 20% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-two percent (42%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -22. That is the president’s lowest rating since September (see trends)."

"Just 27% believe the bailouts were good for the United States. Fifty-seven percent (57%) believe they were bad."

Click to Read More:

Rasmussen Web Site

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/

My Thoughts

The very poor economy is hurting President Obama and all incumbents. They must turn the economy around if they hope to get another term. Not an easy task.

Earthquake in Japan

A tragic situation in Japan. They are in our prayers.

I received word that five people that I know in Japan are OK. 
The world is becoming a smaller place.

Another explosion is being reported by Japan at its Fukushima Daiichi 
nuclear power complex. Japan’s nuclear safety agency says this was 
caused by a build-up of hydrogen.

However, the agency said it could not confirm whether there had 
been an uncontrolled leak of radioactivity.

Technicians have been battling to cool three reactors at the 
Fukushima 1 plant.

Click to Read the Story. 

On Libya, too many questions

Excellent Column by George Will on the reasons for America not to intervene in Libya. I agree with him.  Vietnam made me something of an isolationist, and Iraq and Afghanistan have not changed that opinion.

GALLERY

Egypt- and Tunisia-inspired protests spread through Middle East, North Africa

Motivated by recent shows of political strength by neighbors in Egypt, demonstrators in the Middle East and North Africa are taking to the streets of many cities to rally for change.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

By George F. Will

In September 1941, Japan's leaders had a question for Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto: Could he cripple the U.S. fleet in Hawaii? Yes, he said. Then he had a question for the leaders: But then what?

Following an attack, he said, "I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence" after that. Yamamoto knew America: He had attended Harvard and been naval attache in Japan's embassy in Washington. He knew Japan would be at war with an enraged industrial giant. The tide-turning defeat of Japan's navy at the Battle of Midway occurred June 7, 1942 - exactly six months after Pearl Harbor.


Today, some Washington voices are calling for U.S. force to be applied, somehow, on behalf of the people trying to overthrow Moammar Gaddafi. Some interventionists are Republicans, whose skepticism about government's abilities to achieve intended effects ends at the water's edge. All interventionists should answer some questions:


Click to read the article

Pensions

As public-sector benefits draw headlines, private-sector 401(k) plans have tanked in the crash

credit: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

"One big reason public employees are under siege in Wisconsin and other states is because they now enjoy more secure retirement benefits than most private-sector workers." 


"The question is whether the right way to close that gap is by reducing security for government employees or increasing it for everyone else."

"In 1985, about four in five workers at medium- and large-sized private firms received a defined-benefit pension, according to federal statistics. Today, less than one-third are covered under such plans. Instead, most workers at large and medium private companies who receive pension benefits at all obtain them in the form of defined contributions. In small companies, defined-benefit plans are virtually extinct--and only about one-third of those workers receive even a defined-contribution retirement benefit."


Read the article in the Atlantic Monthly.


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/03/the-pension-problem/72084/


http://www.theatlantic.com/

THE ZEITGEIST

THE ZEITGEIST

46.8%	Obama Average Job Approval
50.3%	Obama Favorability
31.5% / 56.9%	Right Direction / Wrong Track
20.6%	Congressional Approval
-20,000	Initial Weekly Jobless Claims
+3,586	Newly foreclosed properties in January
8.9%	Unemployment

Sources

From the Atlantic Monthly

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Definition of the Zeitgeist

the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Govmint Pensions

Many of my conservative friends are very angry about public pensions. Over the past few years the value of their 401K plans have eroded. Meanwhile most public pensions are defined benefits that must be paid by government. And often government has not properly funded pensions and tax increases are required to cover deficits.


A number of people have called for government to repudiate these pensions. They advocate that local government declare bankruptcy and refuse to pay the pensions, similar to what private companies do during bankruptcy proceedings and what some countries have done.


And of course some people advocate that the United States do this to Social Security pensioners. Naturally those on social security or other government pensions are not wild about this idea. And failing to honor a contract is not something a government should do lightly and only under extreme duress. The US and the States are not at this level of economic duress.


The State of Illinois recently passed legislation to reduce their future liability. They made their pension systems for new hires substantially less lucrative then for current employees. But they have not changed the agreements entered into with public employees many years before.


People are living much longer then before.  We must require our employees to work more years to pay for the increased number of years that they will collect the pension. Illinois just changed their system so that employees must work to 67 years of age to collect the full pension, instead of 60 years. If they wish to retire earlier there is a much larger reduction in benefit then before.


Most people paid into Social Security for 45 years or more. Their employers also paid a contribution. They were promised all during this time that they would receive a defined pension. For government to refuse to pay this pension would be unfair.  And that is also the case for other government pensions. Employers have often worked for a government for 30 or 40 years, paying into a pension system that promised to pay them a pension when they retire. It would be unfair to refuse to pay that pension.

Avoid Wars

Gates warns cadets against large land wars

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"We have fought five wars in Asia since World War II, and you would think we  would have learned a few things.

Like, don't.

With the U.S. still engaged in its longest war in history, and with no apparent end in sight, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates used an address to cadets at West Point to make the point again.

"Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined," he told America's future warriors.

Gates was actually paraphrasing Gen. Douglas MacArthur who is credited with telling President John F. Kennedy the same in 1961."

Click to read the article:

____________

As a Vietnam Vet, I already had this figured out. Still, we had to do something after 911. And whatever we did was going to be costly and difficult and hard to end. Sounds like something like Vietnam. 

Craig Hullinger

Labor's Pains 2011

Mark Shields 19 Feb 2011 The New, Improved Mitt Romney Mitt Romney, the once and almost certainly future Republican presidential candidate, has great teeth and hair … Read More. 12 Feb 2011 For Obama, the Road to Re-Election Does Not Go Through Cairo Anastasio Somoza was the corrupt and brutal dictator of Nicaragua from the U.S. presidency of Franklin … Read More. 5 Feb 2011 Washington's Leading Jerk! Years ago, two gifted New York writers and Brooklyn natives, Pete Hamill and the late Jack Newfield, met for … Read More. "During the showdown in Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker's determination to repeal collective bargaining rights of state employees has led to open conflict with those employees and the unions that represent them. My conservative friends argue that unions now make sense in the private sector, where employers are powerful and rich, but do not make sense in the public sector, where the "employers" are average citizens like Joe Six-Pack" Mark Shields has an interesting column on unions and the situation in Wisconsin. Click to read more: .