When I served in the Air Force, I was a Security Specialist assigned to work with our "Special" weapons systems. This meant nukes. And let me say right now, security, procedures, accountability, oversight, were all draconian and enforced with absolutely zero tolerance for error or omission.

A "Bent Spear" alert is issued when a nuclear asset is somehow compromised. It was something we all lived in serious fear of. And we all worked hard to prevent. Lives, millions of them, depended on all of us doing our jobs correctly all the time. Everyone was checked by and backed up by someone else. There were so many redundancies built into the system that it was unlikely in the extreme that a nuclear asset under US control would ever be compromised.

Yet now, it has happened! See this MSNBC article. I read it, twice, and then quietly began to freak out a little bit. If you did not grow up during the cold war you may not have the same perception and point of view that I do, but this should NEVER have been able to happen!

It means there has been a serious degradation in our military's procedures and oversight. Heads should roll on both bases and perhaps farther up the chain on this.

I can't say it loud enough, or long enough! This is really really a bad thing and deserves a lot more attention than it is getting.

Bob

A few months ago I moved into a new (to us) house. As part of the process of moving into the home I installed my clothes washer and dryer in the laundry room.

I tested the hookups, ran an empty load of wash and monitored for leaks. All seemed fine so I went on with the rest of the tasks of moving.

A few days later I came home, walked into the garage and saw a home owners worst nightmare, water running under the door into the garage.

I threw open the door and stepped into ankle deep water that was pouring out of the laundry room into the family room carpet, into the garage and elsewhere in the lowest level of my home.

A quick check of the laundry room identified the issue, the drain hose had come loose and the washer was desperately trying to fill itself but was loosing water faster than it could bring it in.

I shut the water supply and washer off, temporarily re-attaching the drain hose to stop the immediate issue of the continuing leak. Then I set about the task of removing water from carpet, tile and wall board, drying furniture, etc. In short repairing the damage.

The repairs could not have proceeded, or would not have been very effective if I did not perform at least stop gap measures to prevent further water from escaping the washing machine. But I also knew that once the repair and cleanup was done, I needed to effect much more permanent repairs on the source of the problem in order to prevent a recurrence of the issue.

In an admittedly simplistic way I view immigration reform, in much the same way. No matter how we try to deal with the fact of, by most estimates, 12 million illegal's in the country now, we need to regain control over the root cause of this influx. Our borders and the enforcement of existing immigration laws and policies.

Until we can control our borders and clarify and enforce our immigration policies, we have no hope of any meaningful resolution to the issue. It really is just that simple. If we can't control our borders, and define and enforce our policies then we will continue to suffer the current "flooding" of illegal entry into our country.

In the same way that I had to perform stop gap repairs in order to buy the time I needed to effect cleanup of the worst of the damage in my home. We need to perform stop gap repairs of our border control and immigration policies until we can make more permanent repairs.

Send troops to the border, but also give them the ability to do something there other than watch. I know troops are not an effective police unit, but as a stop gap they will do just fine if we don't tie them up in legal, procedural, and jurisdictional knots.

Put them on the border, pull everyone else off of it, make loud and frequent announcements in the media here and abroad, that after such and so a date, anyone found crossing the border other than at an approved border crossing will be presumed to be invading our sovereign nation and summarily shot.

Then let the troops do what they are supposed to do, protect our nation and it's borders. That should stop the vast majority of the current influx.

Then lets go after the employers, inform them that anyone hiring illegal's will face civil and criminal penalties, up to and including serious jail time.

Anyone detained by law enforcement that cannot reasonably prove legal residency should be handed over to immigration for evaluation and possible deportation.

And finally, lets get with the program and modify the citizenship by birth law to specifically exclude those born here to parents that are not legally here.

And then we can start to work on long term border control and policy reform. We do need a lot of agricultural workers, but lets level the playing field. Get a valid and verifiable guest worker program in place, that requires employers to treat these workers as well as any legal citizen.

Pay them legitimate wages and collect taxes. Provide legitimate benefits and legal protections afforded to any legal worker here. Allow immigrants that show a willingness to join our society a clear and unambiguous path to citizenship. One that does not allow the recreation of the "company store" mentality that was so pervasive in the 1800's and early 1900's.

Sure there are economic complexities and issues in play, as well as humanitarian ones. And I know that there are parts of this issue that I have not even begun to touch. But when all the talking, posturing and politicking is done. It really is as simple as it can be. We either control our borders or we will cease to exist as the nation we are now.

DO NOT CLOSE THE BLINDS

The following is an email I got forwarded, we all get them, most elicit a grin or a laugh, sometimes they make you think. Other times, they make you slightly uncomfortable. This one falls in the latter category. I don't like the way the message is presented, but the message is indeed important, and more than that, it brings it across in a way that should be understandable to almost anyone.

With that said, here it is: 

The other day, my nine-year-old son wanted to know why we were at war.

My husband looked at our son and then looked at me. My husband and I were in the Army during the Gulf War and we would be honored to serve and defend our Country again today. I knew that my husband would give him a good explanation. My husband thought for a few minutes and then told my son to go stand in our front living room window.

He said "Son, stand there and tell me what you see?"

"I see trees and cars and our neighbor's houses." he replied.

"OK, now I want you to pretend that our house and our yard is the United States of America and you are President Bush."

Our son giggled and said "OK."

"Now son, I want you to look out the window and pretend that every house and yard on this block is a different country," my husband said.

"OK Dad, I'm pretending."

"Now I want you to stand there and look out the window and pretend you see Saddam come out of his house with his wife, he has her by the hair and is hitting her. You see her bleeding and crying. He hits her in the face, he throws her on the ground, and then he starts to kick her to death. Their children run out and are afraid to stop him, they are screaming and crying, they are watching this but do nothing because they are kids and they are afraid of their father.

You see all of this, son...what do you do?"

"Dad?"

" What do you do son?"

"I'd call the police, Dad."

"OK. Pretend that the police are the United Nations. They take your Call.

They listen to what you know and saw but they refuse to help. What do you do then son?"

"Dad.......... But the police are supposed to help!" My son starts to Whine.

"They don't want to son, because they say that it is not their place or your place to get involved and that you should stay out of it," my Husband says.

"But Dad...he killed her!” my son exclaims.

"I know he did...but the police tell you to stay out of it. Now I want you to look out that window and pretend you see our neighbor who you're pretending is Saddam turn around and do the same thing to his children."

"Daddy...he kills them?"

"Yes son, he does. What do you do?"

"Well, if the police don't want to help, I will go and ask my next door neighbor to help me stop him." our son says.

"Son, our next door neighbor sees what is happening and refuses to get involved as well. He refuses to open the door and help you stop him," my husband says.

"But Dad, I NEED help! I can't stop him by myself!”

"WHAT DO YOU DO SON?" Our son starts to cry.

"OK, no one wants to help you, the man across the street saw you ask for help and saw that no one would help you stop him. He stands taller and puffs out his chest. Guess what he does next son?"

"What Daddy?"

"He walks across the street to the old ladies house and breaks down her door and drags her out, steals all her stuff and sets her house on fire and then...he kills her. He turns around, sees you standing in the window, and laughs at you. WHAT DO YOU DO?"

"Daddy..."

"WHAT DO YOU DO?" Our son is crying and he looks down and he whispers, "I'd close the blinds, Daddy."

My husband looks at our son with tears in his eyes and asks him. "Why?"

"Because Daddy...the police are supposed to help people who needs them...and they won't help.... You always say that neighbors are supposed to HELP neighbors, but they won't help either...they won't help me stop him...I'm afraid....I can't do it by myself Daddy..... I cannot look out my window and just watch him do all these terrible things and...And...do nothing...so...I’m just going to close the blinds... so I can't see what he's doing...and I'm going to pretend that it is not happening."

I start to cry. My husband looks at our nine-year-old son standing in the window, looking pitiful and ashamed at his answers to my husband's questions and he says... "Son"

"Yes, Daddy."

"Open the blinds because that man.... he's at your front door... "WHAT DO YOU DO?"

My son looks at his father, anger and defiance in his eyes. He balls up his tiny fists and looks his father square in the eyes, without hesitation he says:

“I DEFEND MY FAMILY DAD!! I'M NOT GONNA LET HIM HURT MOMMY OR MY SISTER, DAD!!! I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM, DAD, I'M GONNA FIGHT HIM!!!!!"

I see a tear roll down my husband's cheek and he grabs our son to his chest and hugs him tight, and says. .. “It’s too late to fight him, he's too strong and he's already at YOUR front door son.....you should have stopped him BEFORE he killed his wife, and his children and the old lady across the way. You have to do what's right, even if you have to do it alone, before it’s too late" my husband whispers. THAT scenario I just gave you is WHY we are at war with Iraq. When good men stand by and let evil happen son THAT is the greatest atrocity in the world.

"YOU MUST NEVER BE AFRAID TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!" BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! BE PROUD OF OUR TROOPS!!

SUPPORT THEM!!! SUPPORT AMERICA SO THAT IN THE FUTURE OUR CHILDREN WILL NEVER HAVE TO CLOSE THEIR BLINDS..."

I am NOT the father of Anna Nicole's baby! I may be the only one in the USA that can say that, at least that's the way it seems with all the wanna be Dad's coming out of the woodwork.

Very shortly it will be easier to determine whom has not slept with the unfortunate woman than whom has...

Sad, very sad.

Bobster

My Dad forwarded this to me, and according to Snopes it is in fact true. It certainly rings true, and even though many of you have probably seen this before it bears repeating. Enjoy!

Bob Porter

This is not very long, but very informative You have to read the catalogue of events in this brief piece. Then, ask yourself how anyone can take the position that all we have to do is bring our troops home from Iraq, sit back, reset the snooze alarm, go back to sleep, and no one will ever bother us again. In case you missed it, World War III began in November 1979... that alarm has been ringing for years.

US Navy Captain Ouimette is the Executive Officer at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. Here is a copy of the speech he gave last month. It is an accurate account of why we are in so much trouble today and why this action is so necessary.

Speech starts here...

AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP! That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 (When more than 3,000 Americans were killed) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign U. S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and down sized/right sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued!

In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people.

The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.

Then just six short months later in 1983 a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.

Then in August 1985 a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.

Fifty! -nine days later in 1985 a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.

The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in1988, killing 259.

Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war.

The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder.

The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war?

The Snooze alarm is depressed again.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over
500.

The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively.

They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep!!!

In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979.

I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough! America needs to "Get out of Bed" and act decisively now. America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues.

We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said "... it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant." This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world.

This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.

USS REAGAN

Seeing it next to the Arizona Memorial really puts its size into perspective...................ENORMOUS

USS REAGAN PASSING THE ARIZONA MEMORIAL

BEAUTIFUL!

When the Bridge pipes "Man the Rail" there is a lot of rail to man on this monster: shoulder to shoulder, around 4.5 acres.  Her displacement is about 100,000 tons with full complement.

Capability 

•  Top  speed exceeds 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors that can operate  for more than 20 years without refueling
• Expected to operate in the  fleet for about 50 years 
• Carries over 80 combat  aircraft 
• Three arresting cables can stop a 28-ton aircraft going 150  miles per hour in less than 400 feet

Size

• Towers  20 stories above the waterline
• 1092  feet long; nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall
• Flight  deck covers 4.5 acres 
• 4  bronze propellers, each 21 feet across, weighing 66,200  pounds 
• 2  rudders, each 29 by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons 
• 4 high  speed aircraft elevators, each over 4,000 square feet

Dates

• Dec 8,  1994 Contract awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding
• Feb 12, 1998 Keel laid 
• Oct 1,  2000 Pre-commissioning Unit established 
• March  4, 2001 Christened by Mrs. Nancy Reagan 
• May 5,  2003 First underway 
• July  12, 2003 Commissioned 
• July  23, 2004 Arrived at home port in San  Diego , CA

Capacity

• Home  to about 6,000 Navy personnel
• Carries enough food and supplies  to operate for 90 days 
• 18,150  meals served daily 
• Distillation plants provide  400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2000 homes 
• Nearly  30,000 light fixtures and 1,325 miles of cable and wiring 1,400  telephones 
• 14,000  pillowcases and 28,000 sheets 
• Costs  the Navy approximately $250,000 per day for pier side operation 
• Costs  the Navy approximately $2.5 million per day for underway operations (Sailor's  salaries included).

US  Navy welcomes the USS Bill Clinton

Sunday July 2nd '06 Vancouver,   BC ,  Headed for Seattle , WA
The US Navy welcomed the latest member of its fleet today.

Pictured above:

The USS William Jefferson Clinton (CVS1) set sail today from its home port of Vancouver , BC.

The ship is the first of its kind in the Navy and is a standing legacy to President Bill Clinton "for his foresight in military budget cuts" and his conduct while president.  The ship is constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminum and is completely solar powered with a top speed of 5 knots. It boasts an arsenal comprised of one (unarmed) F14 Tomcat or one (unarmed) F18 Hornet aircraft which although  they cannot be launched or captured on the 100 foot flight deck, but form a very menacing presence.

As a standing order there are no firearms allowed on board. The 20 person crew is completely diversified, including members of all races, creeds, sex, and sexual orientation. This crew, like the crew aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, is specially trained to avoid conflicts and appease any and all enemies of the United States at all costs.

An onboard Type One DNC Universal Translator can send out messages of apology in any language to anyone who may find America offensive. The number of apologies are limitless and though some may sound  ! hollow and disingenuous, the Navy advises all apologies will sound very  sincere.

The ship's purpose is not defined so much as a unit of national defense, but instead in times of conflict the USS Clinton has orders to seek refuge in Canada The ship may be positioned near the Democratic National Party Headquarters for photo-ops and can be used extensively for social experimentation and whatever other worthless jobs the ex-commander-in-chief and his wife can think of.  

It is largely rumored that the ship will also be the set for the upcoming season of MTV's "The Real World."

The ship was renamed and  commissioned USS William J  Clinton when someone realized the USS Blowfish was already taken.

Years ago, when I started working in IT, recruiters were decent, well educated, motivated folks. They worked hard to help you find a job that matched your skills and your needs. They typically received a one time fee for their service paid by the employer that was usually some percentage of your first years salary.

For the last 10 years that type of recruiter has been on the endangered species list. Sadly I now think they may be extinct. What has replaced them is a new, non native predatory species that thrives on body count. These folks are not at all working for you, they are working for their own employer. They also could care less about their “customers”, the only factor that drives them is the amount of money they can get per billable hour.

Of the last dozen or so recruiters I have dealt with only 1 actually read my resume. The rest obviously saw a skill or tool set found on my resume by a search tool and immediately called and emailed me with a “perfect fit” job.

Never mind that most of jobs offered were in another state even though I had stated clearly on my resume and online job boards, that I was NOT willing to relocate.

Never mind that the offered rate was typically 30% lower than what I had listed as my minimum requirement.

Never mind that as often as not the job offered was one for which I was extremely over qualified for, or was one that I was extremely under qualified for.

I can’t tell you how many times I would get a call something like the following:

“Hi this is Joe Bob with TechnoRecruiterAreUs, how are you today?”

Me: “Fine, thanks, how are you?”

“Great! Thanks!, Hey I have a great job to talk to you about, are you interested?”

Me: “Well I might be, what does it involve?”

“My client needs a Senior Developer with experience in C++, C#, Java, ADA, and Assembly! Your resume looked great for that!”

Me: “Really? How so, I don’t list C++ or ADA or Java or Assembly on my resume as a skill?”

“Ah but you do list C#! I am sure you can pick up those other things quickly right?!?”

Me: “Click…”

And don’t even get me started on how misused terms such as “Senior” and “High Level” are. And how about the employer that insisted he wanted someone with at least 10 years experience with C#? Since C# has only been around for about 4–5 years even counting the early Beta’s I wish him luck on that one!

And since when is “Senior” used in conjunction with 2–3 years of experience? To me anyone with less than 10 years experience as a developer is a “Junior” not a “Senior” anything!

And now my favourite peeve of all! The disappearing recruiter. He calls, gets your ok to submit you somewhere, maybe even gets you a phone screen, and then…. nothing, nada, zip, can’t be reached!

For crying out loud! At least call me back, touch base with me once in awhile, let me know you still know I exist!!!!! I don’t care if it’s a one line email saying, “Nothing yet, still looking.” But at least communicate!!!!!

Subject for another post, @$@#$@ skill assessment tests!!!!

Cheers,

Robert Porter

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. A few years ago my family and I travelled to Hawaii and had the opportunity to visit the Arizona memorial.

To be perfectly honest I was not prepared for the effect it had on me. I assumed it would be like visiting any other historical site that I had ever visited. I was wrong. I can’t put what I felt in words, at least not well, but it had a very real impact on me.

Realizing that I was standing on the exact spot where 1177 of her crew perished. Where she sank to the bottom in nine minutes and burned for 3 days. Where America was dragged outraged into World War II. It really really hit me.

As a result, I will never ever forget to observe my own personal moment of silence on this date.

Robert Porter