Maybe Louis Caldera should head FEMA.

In my opinion, any unusual flight activity over New York City, especially after 911, should have Presidential approval first.

Air Force One is the President's plane. How did he not know about the photo op? The fact that Louis Caldera was able to initiate and green light this decision alone causes me concern. Or did he initiate it?

The White House Military Office, which Mr. Caldera heads, is under the Executive Office of the President which is overseen by White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Did Rahm approve the flyover?

Come to think of it, if Air Force One is solely the President's plane, who exactly are we promoting it to? I'm curious if they will actually use the photos now?

In releasing his apology, Mr. Caldera used the words "confusion" and "disruption." How about trying "fear" and "panic?" And he says that "federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey." So it's proper to notify them yet tell them it's classified. What exactly are they supposed to do with information they can't repeat?

Vote what should be done top right -------------------------------------------------------->

The Whine About Swine

Bird flu killed 257.
SARS killed 774.
The 1918 Influenza Epidemic killed 50 million.

Health officials in Mexico report that swine flu has already killed 103 and sickened 1,614. No one knows for sure whether we face a pandemic or not. Swine flu is worrisome because people who died in Mexico were mostly older than age 3 and younger than age 60 (the 1918 Influenza was most deadly for people ages 20-40). Typically young children and the elderly are most vulnerable.

A vaccine for swine flu is estimated to take four to six months to develop and have ready. Hopefully Porky Pig was not prophetic when he said, "Th th th that's all folks!"

(Don't forget to cast your vote on the left) ------------------------------------------>

The Cyber Conspiracy

The super secret National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security spar over cybersecurity control. Add to the mix, a White House power grab under the Executive Office of the President.

NSA dominates the technology and expertise, but can we trust them with access to personal information, especially considering past surveillance of emails and phone calls?

Some envision a partnership between NSA and the DHS. However, last month, Rod Beckstrom, former director of the National Cyber Security Center, resigned due to his perception of NSA control over cyber efforts.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that cyber spies infiltrated the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project - the defense department's costliest weapons program ever. Could this be a hoax promulgated by the Pentagon to sway public support to favor their cybersecurity ambitions? Hmmmm . . .

Torture Musings

Fearturing:

Rodney the Republican
Larry the Liberal

ACT 1

Rodney: It is hypocritical for Congressional Democrats to call for public hearings and criminal prosecution when many of them knew about the enhanced interrogation techniques since 2002 and approved of it.

Larry: First of all, it's called torture and second of all, Nancy Pelosi, who at the time was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN she was not told that waterboarding or other enhanced methods would be used but only that Bush officials were under legislative counsel and that if and when they would be used Congress would be briefed at that time.

Rodney: Why didn't she raise any objections? Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), who replaced Pelosi as the committee's top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee in January 2003, filed an official protest.

Larry: True, but . . .

Rodney: And another thing! The CIA admitted that a videotape of an interrogation of one of the waterboarded detainees was destroyed in 2005 against the advice of the Bush Justice Department and the White House and yet President Obama says prosecuting anyone from CIA is off limits. This makes absolutely no sense. The CIA wanted to use these techniques and felt they were important. If it's torture then why aren't they being held accountable? It's just President Obama's political theatrics.

Larry: All I know is that even the U.S. military has officially regarded waterboarding as torture since the Spanish-American War. So regardless of the politics, torture is wrong.