The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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When and where is it all going to end? Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved Germany and the German people. When I was five years old, my father took my brother and me to see the movie, The Blue Max, starring George Peppard and Ursula Andress. It is the story of a brutal, callous, cold blooded killer named Bruno Stachel who flew for the Germans in World War One. I still watch this movie at least once or twice every year. But as a little kid, the aviation scenes and the cool German...
A nervous tension hangs heavily over the upcoming press conference. As usual, something major in the world occurs and the President of the United States is expected to step up to the podium and give not only his ideas of the event but will hopefully spell out exactly how his administration plans on reacting. Today is no exception. 80 members of the press corps huddles around waiting for the POTUS to step onto the stage. Over the din and confusion in the room, questions can be heard wondering...
First of all, I have to apologize for this column. I first wrote this way back in early 2011 but as I read over it, I felt it remained current in its scope and thought. The reason I am not adding a new column is that I am currently recovering from surgery I recently had and to be honest, at the moment writing is among the last things on my mind to do. I do think, however, for my next Robservation I will discuss my surgery. But here is my column with a few editorial additions and I am looking...
Hey, folks. Happy New Year to all. I hope everybody had a great Christmas season. But a lot has happened already this year so let’s get started. Let’s talk about. . . 1. Sexual Assaults in Germany: Okay, I admit. This one really angers me. Since this news broke, I have asked a couple of dozen people about this story and almost none of them had heard about it. Apparently, on New Year’s Eve, in six German cities, groups of “refugees” and “asylum seekers” thought it would be nice to pester, annoy...
Here I sit, shaking my head. Next year cannot come too soon for me. That is, next year’s presidential election. It has hard for me to fathom the level of mediocrity that emanates from within this administration. It has become a continuous procession of buffoonery that is only topped by the sheer impossibility that such actions should ever occur. I am not even going to talk about Benghazi because there is still too much information that has been hidden, covered, expunged or whatever you want t...
A lot has happened since my last Robservation. The Paris terrorist attacks, the Russian airline shoot down, the increasing concern over Syrian refugees coming to the States, President Obama's pathetic, sad and disgusting speech in Turkey, Rhonda Rousey getting knocked out, you name it. I want to touch on them just a little. 1. Russian airliner shot down: Not much to say here. Russia has finally admitted that their plane was brought down by a terrorist attack and yes, Vladmir Putin is pretty...
Over two years ago I first penned this column and not surprisingly since then there have been an increasingly number of senseless gun attacks reported. Just this year we had the South Carolina church shooting, the television reporter and cameraman in Roanoke, Virginia and just the other day a shooting at the Fort Meyers, Florida Zombie convention. And as usual, out come the knuckleheads insisting on complete gun control and the dismantling of the Second Amendment. I figured now might be a good...
Okay, I get it. I really do. The Syrian refugee crisis is a tragedy on a monumental scale. The picture of the dead child on the beach, the long lines, barbed wire fences and all the scenes reminiscent of the worst of WWII movies and documentaries, all work to pull and tear at our collective heart strings. But as with almost any story, there is always more than meets the eye. It is a little difficult writing about this but alas, I feel the need to. Before someone reading this opines that I am a...
I have to admit, it takes a lot to impress me. I generally do not go all ga-ga over people or things, but every now and then I am taken by surprise. In my world, I have flown with all types of men and women. Good pilots and not-so good ones. I have met many athletes, celebrities, combat vets, you name it. Although many have been incredibly interesting, few have knocked my socks off. I have flown with Thunderbird pilots, a Canadian Snowbird pilot, a Blue Angel, an Italian Frecci Tricolori pilot,...
Those who love Your law have great peace and nothing offends them. Psalm 119:165 Okay, this is not going to be a religious rant of any kind because I fully understand a large percentage of people out there reading this may not be believers. That is okay. It is what it is. At the same time, however, there comes a time when all people, regardless of their beliefs need to take a step back and get off of this ridiculous notion that everything "offends" them. In fact, most of the time we need to...
My father had been sick for a while. He had recently lost both of his legs due to injuries he sustained while serving in the Army during and after the Korean War. The injuries never fully healed and as he got older, poor circulation took its toll on his legs. I used to call my dad every day, sometimes three or more times, just to check on him and talk. I loved hearing his voice and discussing life in general. I always asked him how he was feeling and his usually annoying answer was, “The same a...
Because of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash where the copilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed his Airbus 320-200 into the French Alps killing all 150 people onboard, my previous Robservation focused on the aviation industry's need to develop and maintain robust selection and training programs. In addition to these two aspects, however, any organization that wants to succeed must also implement training's evil twin, Standardization/Evaluation. I say evil with tongue in cheek, but...
On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320-200 crashed into the French Alps killing all 150 people onboard. Things instantly didn't seem right and almost immediately authorities knew for sure that the 27 year-old German copilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally flew the airplane into the mountains. Having flown for Delta for 18 years and 12 years before that in the Air Force, I know a little about the subject of flight safety. I know many of you have questions because I am...
On July 16, 2014 under the leadership of the US Department of Treasury Secretary, Jacob J. Lew, in an apparent response to Russia's attempts to destabilize the eastern Ukraine as well as its advances in and occupation of the Crimea, broad-based sanctions were levied against Vladmir Putin's government. These sanctions targeted financial services, the energy sector, select areas of the Russian arms industry and identified institutions directly related to the undermining of the Ukrainian...
Over the past several months, I have become increasingly embarrassed, and to be quite honest, ashamed of the majority of people running this great country of ours, Democrat and Republican. With every passing day, another item makes its way to the forefront of the news to further anger and disillusion most of us who pay attention to what is going on in the world around us. With that in mind, here is a not-so-complete list of some items that bug me right now. – I am ashamed that we have an ad...
With the study of history, we often think of the past as places where our heroes have risen above all obstacles by the very nature of their superior moral, physical and/ or spiritual qualities. We have a high regard for the hero while we somehow ignore or forgive them for their faults and shortcomings; no matter how glaring. We put them on pedestals and think of them, or wish for them, attributes and characteristics that may not exist. In turn, it becomes increasingly easy to give them credit...
I will be honest with all of you. I don’t even know where to begin with this Robservation. In an era where, as a society, we should be reaching for the stars, we seem to be mired in the most toxic racial environment I have witnessed in my adult life. Just before I sat down to write this, a news report broke that I am sure each and every one of you has seen and heard about dozens of times. It appears that 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Abdula Brinsley of Maryland, took his semi-automatic handgun and murder...
Mary had just had a bad night; a really, really bad night. The man her “friend” set her up with and had assured her was the “catch of the century,” had predictably turned out to be anything but. He was grossly immature and socially awkward with a strange and unsettling twitching left eye that never quite seemed to look directly at her. As she brooded over her mug of hot coffee, she thought to herself that it could have been much worse. He could have been an Oakland Raiders fan. She wiped a...
There is a line from my favorite WWII movie, 12 O’clock High, where newly promoted LTC Harvey Stovall, played by Dean Jagger, is sitting in the office with Gregory Peck’s character, General Savage, and two other officers. The 918th Bomb Group had just completed their most challenging mission to date and was scheduled to fly a mission against the same target the following day. As the men are discussing the day’s events, Stovall, quite drunk, stands up and interrupts the conversation, “I am conf...
Over the past month or so, I have become acutely aware of two things. First, time is a relentless, non-caring force that will stop for nothing. Second, I realize that there are still some very small thinking people out there. TIME: THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING My wife and I just came back from visiting her family in Texas. While there, I really noticed how much older her family has gotten. It is not like I have never noticed age, but there was something different this time. Her mom seemed to...
I have been watching the crises in Iraq with some saturnine curiosity. I am not even sure where to begin with this Robservation. But I guess the best thing to do is to “cut to the chase” so to speak. These ISIS criminals are dangerous; not only to Iraqis who think differently than they do but to the world as a whole. They hate everything and everybody who does not conform to their way of thinking. I have always had this morbid curiosity in seeing, let’s say, gross stuff. Weird? Yeah, I know...
The other day, my wife and I were minding our own business taking down wallpaper in our kitchen when we heard on Fox News that a Malaysian Airlines 777 had just been shot down in the Ukraine. A couple of hours later we heard of the Israeli ground offensive into Gaza. What a day! Days like this are exactly why our pastor reminded us last week that if we dwell on the world news instead of looking to God as our source, one can go mad through depression, worry and anger. MALAYSIA FLIGHT 17 Didn't...
Forrest Gump said, “I am not a smart man, but I know what love is.” In that vein I say, “I don’t fancy myself a super smart man, but I know idiocy when I see it.” Oh my, what in the heck is going on in this country and with this administration? Every day now it seems as though they are embroiled in yet another scandal. From Lois Lerner and the IRS, the sudden surge of illegal immigrants (undocumented Democrats), to the meltdown in the Middle East, I have to shake my head in disgust almost every...
I just recently finished a month of training in Atlanta learning to fly a new airplane. For the last 12 years or so, I have been flying the Boeing 757 and 767 but now I will be flying the Boeing 717. A lot of folks had been following me on Facebook and saw pictures I posted of me and my copilot "enjoying" the training program. But as long and painful as the training may have been, there was a definite reason for it. The reason U.S. airlines remain the best and safest in the world is because of...
My wife, her sister and I just came back from a 10-day trip to Germany. Her niece and their family are stationed in the same place my wife and I were stationed from 1987-1993. You know, there is a saying that "you can never go back." Well actually you can, just be prepared for all the changes. Before we left, I told my niece that I was "easy" and would do anything they had planned. I only had two real requests. First, I wanted to get into the AWACS simulator and fly. I had not flown that...