It's Time to Bury Diana

Princess Diana died 10 years ago today. It is time to bury her. Oh, yes, she has been interred, but she is very much alive in the minds of many. I certainly feel for her loved ones and close friends who will always remember her, but there are many to whom she was no more than a celebrity, someone they knew only vicariously. It is to those who had no close attachment that I address.

Princess Di is dead. There is no bringing her back. Let's get on with life. What is it with this obsession, anyway? What purpose does it serve to keep dragging her out of the grave on every anniversary. The same would go for others, like Elvis Presley.

Don't you have more important things to do with your life? Maybe you just need to "get a life." Your interest in the late princess is morbid. Life is for living, not for mourning. The young princes may want to keep her memory alive. I would like it to go away.

"Loss of Confidence" in the Navy

What is going on in the United States Navy? There seems to be an epidemic of commanding officers being relieved for "loss of confidence in ... ability to command."

A quick search of the Internet revealed these incidents:

September 2002 CO, USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) relieved for loss of confidence. This man was a Captain

February 2003 CO, Kitty Hawk Battle Group, relieved for loss of confidence because of an inappropriate relationship with a female officer. This man, a Rear Admiral, also received a punitive letter of reprimand.

April 2004 CO, USS Firebolt (PC 10), relieved for loss of confidence after his ship collided with a navigational aid off the coast of Iraq.

February 2005 CO, USS San Francisco (SSN 711) relieved for loss of confidence and issued a letter of reprimand after his submerged submarine collided with a sea mount.

May 2005 CO, USS Patriot (MCM 7), a mine countermeasures ship relieved for loss of confidence after running aground in the Republic of Korea. He also received a punitive letter of reprimand.

January 2006 CO, USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) relieved for loss of confidence.

June 2006 CO, USS Columbus (SSN 762) relieved for loss of confidence after allegations of harassment disclosed.

November 2006 Commander, Submarine Squadron 17 relieved for loss of confidence in his ability to command. The charges against this Captain, who was addressed as Commodore, have not been specified.

January 2007 CO, USS Minneapolis - St. Paul (SSN 708), relieved for loss of confidence after 2 sailors died after they were washed overboard.

April 2007 CO, Electronic Attack Squadron 140, relieved for loss of confidence only 9 days after assuming command.

May 2007 CO, USS Higgins (DDG 76), relieved for loss of confidence while en route to the Persian Gulf.

May 2007 CO, USS Helena (SSN 725), relieved for loss of confidence.

May 2007 CO, USS Constitution, relieved for loss of confidence.

There may be more, who knows?

Some of these have been removed for obvious reasons, others for undisclosed causes. Primary causes for removal from command are unsafe actions, misuse of funds, sexual indiscretion, and other inappropriate conduct. I suspect that nowadays some are removed for not being PC. The number of captains being relieved for loss of confidence is alarming. They did not get their by mischance. These are men that have years of schooling and experience. They have been to PCO (Prospective Commanding Officer) School or its equivalent. Those of senior rank have attended the Naval War College. If the caliber of our officers is so degraded that our best are bad, what does that say for the junior ranks? Something is amiss. The Navy has lost its moorings in more ways than one.

Payday Loans

Broke? Low on cash? Just stop by your local payday loan store for an easy hundred dollars or so. Then you can just sell your body and soul to the lending agency because you will forever be in their debt.

Even a low $10.00 per $100.00 borrowed for two weeks is equivalent to 260.71% annual interest. That's highway robbery! Yet that is about as low an interest rate that you'll find on payday loans, if you can even find that. Typically, interest rates are above 15% for two weeks (391% per annum) and can exceed 30% for two weeks.

I would like to see these institutions put out of business. Poor people are poor enough without having to mortgage the rest of their lives for a hundred dollars or so. At the very least, they should be regulated so that the customer has a chance to pay off his loan without major harm to his income.

I see (and know) people that make regular trips to the payday loan store. If they can't afford to pay their loan off this week they can pay the loan and then immediately take out another loan for the same amount, incurring another fee.

Let's say you borrow just $100.00. In two weeks you will owe $125.00, assuming a fee of 25%. You write out a check for $125.00 and the lender holds it, depositing it two weeks later (or you can by it back by going to the store in person). Two weeks roll by and your paltry paycheck will not carry you another two weeks if you pay off the loan. So you pay the loan off and borrow $100.00 more. You again write a check for $125.00. Two weeks later you are in the same situation and repeat the scenario. Your interest rate has now climbed to 75% (650% per annum) and each time you roll or flip your loan, it goes up another 25%. You are in an involutional financial spiral. Eventually, you will crash!

My first year in the Navy I received, after my allotments were taken out, 68 dollars a month. Even in 1964, $34.00 was hard to stretch out for two weeks. I was attending a service school and had to wear pressed uniforms to class. That required sending them out to the laundry. White uniforms seldom went past two wearings. In order to gain some extra money I would pawn my camera. That would give me another $10.00. I didn't want to lose that camera so I would hustle down to the pawn shop and buy it back for $15.00 and then turn around a week later and repeat the cycle. I soon realized that what I was doing was self-defeating. If I budgeted my money, cut back on expenditures, and set some money aside for emergencies I would not have to be in the pawn-payback-pawn cycle. I ended up having to sell the camera, but it was worth it in the long run.

Unfortunately, once a person gets trapped by the payday lender's snare of easy money, it is hard to get out of it. Estimates are that only about 1% of payday loans are paid off the first time with the borrower not flipping the loan.

Some states have passed restricting legislation but much more needs to be done. The industry is a parasite, sucking the life-blood out of those who can least afford to give it.

Crash Dive

I thought I had seen every submarine movie there is, but the other day, as I was in the library, I came across an oldie that I not only had not seen but I had not even heard of it. That was 1943's “Crash Dive,” starring Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, and Dana Andrews. It has been reissued in DVD format, which is what I saw. The back cover of the box presented a blurb that piqued my interest, so I checked it out.

The movie was made with the cooperation of the US Navy and the Submarine Base in New London, CT. Cdr. M. K. Kirkpatrick, USN, was assigned to the movie as the technical advisor. Seeing that splashed on the screen during the opening moments of the film gave me the assurance that the movie would be good and true-to life. That assurance, however, was short-lived.

The first disappointment came in the opening scene of the movie in which Tyrone Power's character is the skipper of a PT boat, with the rank of Lieutenant. For those not familiar with Naval rank, that is the equivalent to a captain in the other services. In all the services it is the officer rank third from the bottom. A squadron of PT boats is somewhere when they discover a lifeboat filled with people. Lt. Ward Stewart (Power) peels off and as he begins boarding the survivors, a periscope is spotted off the starboard bow. The PT boat crew loads everybody back into the lifeboat and takes out after the submarine, which by now is diving. When they get to the approximate location of the dived submarine they drop some ashcans (depth charges) and Lt. Power returns to the lifeboat with a stupid grin on his face. There is no substantiating evidence to support the sub's sinking and in real life this just would not have happened. The movie then breaks to a newspaper headline proclaiming: “Torpedo Boat Sinks Enemy Sub!!” At least they didn't give any chest candy for that.

A few minutes later the movie moves to the Submarine Base in New London. There, one sees a company of recruits in formation, complete with guidon and two CPO drill instructors, marching along at right shoulder arms. As far as I know, New London never trained recruits.

Lt. Ward has received orders to report to New London and there finds his uncle, Rear Admiral Stewart. The Admiral congratulates Ward on the swell job of sinking the sub, to which Ward replies, “That U-boat never had a chance.” The upshot of all this is that the uncle has ordered Ward to submarine duty. Ward remonstrates that he doesn't like subs and much prefers PT boat duty. “They're the best,” he says. Uncle Admiral reminded him that's what he said about battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, all of which the young Lieutenant has served on. With that much experience in such a short career, he must have really been a loser — I mean, it's hard to pack a career into such a short life.

Lt. Ward's submarine, running submerged under wartime conditions, comes to periscope depth for a look-see at the surface ocean. The captain, played by Dana Andrews, brings the periscope up just enough to break the surface. Battle procedure would be to take a quick 360-degree sweep to ensure no enemy ships are nearby. Our illustrious skipper makes a 10-degree scan and raises the scope all the way. Then, paying half-attention, Captain Dewey Connors takes a leisurely rotation and 33 seconds later spots a ship. In the meantime, his periscope is cutting a wake large enough to surf on. He then looks, somewhat stunned, for another 12 seconds. It's another 30 seconds before the scope is lowered. Had the ship been a man-of-war (it was a Q-boat) the sub would have been under attack and fighting for its life.

The movie only gets worse as the sub, in another scene, sends two boat-loads of sailors to make a commando raid on a Nazi base. That's a real laugh. Sub sailors are good at sailing submarines, but most of them, especially of diesel boat days, wouldn't know how to spell commando let alone be one. Worse yet, there was no planning and no maps of the base or charts of the harbor. It would have been a suicide mission in real life, but in this flick only one man is killed — and he was going to die of a heart attack anyway. After the commandos are back on board, the sub attempts to escape the harbor. In making its exit, the sub is fired on by a shore battery, but only once. One has to wonder why.

The final infamy of this movie is the blatant propaganda typical of World War II government influence. The final litany given by Ward Stewart is a paean to the Navy, brilliant and truthful, but propaganda nonetheless.

If you are looking for an evening's amusement (which means “no thinking) this movie fits the bill. Submarine buffs will relish it only for the fact that it is a submarine movie. If you can, borrow a copy or check it out from the library: it certainly isn't worth spending a dollar on.

Edinburgh Tattoo — Taking leave of its senses?

Every August for the past 58 years visitors from around the world have gathered to witness and enjoy the Edinburgh tattoo. The Tattoo is a musical extravaganza conducted on the castle esplanade. The performances are, for the most part, military-oriented.

This year Major-General Euan Loudon, formerly head of the British army in Scotland, has taken the reins of the Tattoo. He has observed that many of the visitors in recent Tattoos are from the Pacific Rim. "That tells me that I probably need to think a little bit about the make-up of the show ... and make sure that we give people who come from the other side of the world a taste of something of their own culture," Yahoo News Singapore reports him saying.

I don't know about you, but when I travel to a foreign country it is not to see and hear my own culture. I want to see and hear the native sights and sounds. I certainly do not want to spend the enormous amount of American dollars to go to Scotland and hear Chinese, Japanese, and Korean music unless it fits in with the typical Tattoo repertoire.

Don't take me wrong, I have nothing against the Orient. However, I do not want to go to Scotland to see and hear it. I would like to visit China, Japan, and Korea and there to see and hear all that constitutes those countries.

What makes the Tattoo worth going to see and hear is the distinctiveness of Scotland. I hope the new chief executive officer of the Edinburgh Tattoo will bear that in mind.

Illegals — They have a lot of gall!

I am proud to be an American. America is the land of my birth. My father was the son of an immigrant. My mother's anscestors arrived much earlier — before the Revolution. Without immigration I would not be here. I am not opposed to immigration or to immigrants. I am opposed to unlawful or illegal immigration.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently ran an article reporting on demonstrations for illegal immigrants. Typical of their thinking is this comment by immigrant and American citizen Melissa Woo: "Us [sic] immigrants aren't pieces of trash, we're human beings," she said. "To be treated as less than human is a travesty." If you are an American citizen than why are you protesting? Deportation of illegal immigrants is not a travesty — it is an imperative, a necessity.

Illegal immigrants are a drain on our economy. By coming into our country illegally they have already proven themselves unworthy of American citizenship. If they think so little of our laws when they cross the border, what makes you think they will become responsible law-abiding citizens afterwards?

As I was writing this I received an email addressing this subject. It was filled with half-truths and distorted facts. Wanting to verify the data it contained I visited Snopes.com and did a search on illegal immigration, resulting in 21 hits. Examining these reveals illegal immigration to be a highly-charged issue. Unfortunately, many of those opposed to illegal immigration are not opposed to twisting the truth.

A few years back I worked the night shift at an industrial bakery in Nevada. I was welcomed to the "VFW." When I showed my ignorance, I was told: "You are one of the Very Few Whites." And so I was. There were 8 Caucasians to over 300 Hispanics, mostly Mexican. Many spoke no English and some were illiterate. An INS raid also showed that many were illegals.

I do not blame any of my Hispanic co-workers for wanting to be here. We are the land of opportunity. I was slightly amused when told by a young man from Jalisco, "We spend all our lives of dreaming about coming to the United States — and then, after we are here we dream of the day we can go home." At any rate, I found all of them to be industrious and anxious to please. Rather than tell them, "You're in America — speak English," I learned to communicate with them in their language. I did encourage them to learn English and assisted those that were willing to learn with the nuances of our difficult speech.

The bottom line, though, is that illegal immigration is illegal. Just because a robber breaks into my home and manages to hide out for five, ten, or even twenty years does not give him the right to live with me. Hiding out for a long time does not make him moral or ethical. The same is true for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants have no say, or shouldn't have.

America welcomes all who come through the front door with the proper invitation. Those that break and enter should be treated as the criminals they are.

Don't Mess with the Electoral College

The New York Times today published an editorial advocating eliminating the Electoral College. The editorial opens by saying, "The Electoral College should be abolished...." The Electoral College is there for a purpose and most people, including those supposedly erudite editors at the Times, just don't understand why we have the Electoral College.

To be fair, the NY Times editorial rightly condemns a State of California initiative to distribute the Electoral College vote according to the number of electoral districts a candidate wins. That is wrong and the paper does a good job of making that clear.

There are those who would like to see the Electoral College disappear altogether and the President elected by popular vote. While that sounds like the democratic thing to do (ignoring the fact that we are a republic and NOT a democracy) it, too, is wrong — or at least not wise.

The purpose of the Electoral College is to prevent those states with large populations from controlling the electoral process. If the President were elected by popular vote rather than by representative vote then the votes of some states would not even matter. The Electoral College gives the smaller states a say in Presidential politics.

With the winner-takes-all system that most, if not all, states now have in place the Presidential candidate with the most votes state-wide gets all the Electoral College votes. Here, in the State of Washington, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and the I-5 corridor determine the outcome of all statewide elections, effectively disenfranchising the less-populated districts. This is exactly what would happen if the Electoral College is eliminated. Our founding fathers saw that. It's too bad the editorial staff at the New York Times are not that astute.

Ponderfications?

Ponderfications? What kind of word is that? Do you like it? I hope you do. I made it up. This blog will be devoted to my ponderings and pontifications. Often, my ponderings lead to pontifications.

I am, as you shall discover, very opinionated. I suppose that is why I never made it as a politician. I have no difficulty in expressing my opinion. Sometimes those expressions are not popular. So what. I am not in a popularity contest. Now, that does not mean I do not appreciate contrary opinions. It does not mean I cannot or will not change my mind. I think it is better, though, to be of the wrong opinion than to be wishy-washy.

How one expresses one's opinions is often more important than the opinion itself. It is easy to run rough-shod over the feeling's of others. Truth hurts. Sometimes the hurt is unnecessary and the delivery counter-productive.

I hope my rantings in this blog, when they do not garner your approval, may at least be polite and courteous, coated with honey, and solicitous of your good grace.

Moving Day

I have been blogging for some time on Smartpunters.com. There is nothing wrong with Smartpunters. They have treated me well and provided excellent service. I would recommend them to anyone. However, for some quirky reasons of my own I am moving my four blogs to Blogger.com.

I shall be moving each of my entries to this site as I have time and adding new ones, besides. I hope you will become an avid and addicted reader.