Capitan Free from Pirates!

After several days the Captain of the container ship captured by Somali pirates is finally free.

Phillips’ life was in danger when naval forces shot the pirates, freeing him unharmed and killing three of four pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the navy said. The fourth pirate was in custody.

“I can tell you that he is free and that he is safe,” Navy Lieutenant Commander John Daniels said.

The U.S. Navy believed that Phillips, who tried to escape on Friday, faced imminent danger amid tense hostage talks with his captors and deteriorating sea conditions.

“They were pointing the AK-47s at the captain,” Vice Adm. William Gortney, head of the U.S. Naval Central Command, said in a Pentagon briefing from Bahrain.

President Barack Obama had granted the Pentagon’s request for standing authority to use appropriate force to save the life of the captain, he said.

I hope this makes any other pirates think twice before trying to nab an American flagged cargo ship again. US special forces are some of the best trained in the world and we do not negotiate with terrorists. Thank god for the actions of the Captain of the USS Bainbridge who knew when to take the shot and to those men who executed the maneuver. It was done with the precision that the American people have come to expect from our armed forces. We are proud of them and the actions they take every day on behalf of this country and each one of us.

An Open Challenge to President-elect Obama

Mr. Obama, With unprecedented popularity and influence within the 20 – 30 year old age bracket in the United States, it is time you harness that energy and drive your vision of change into our local communities and demographics. This is not a partisan effort, nor an effort that favors liberal or conservative thinking. It is a movement and idea that reconnects Americans with their heritage and communities that is needed now more than ever. We need to rediscover what makes this country great, we need to see the principles of what it means to be an American in everyday life. To this end I challenge you to push us towards a goal of involvement as Jack Kennedy asked us all to do over forty years ago.

1. Establish state level service commissions - We need organizations that promote service within our communities, this can’t just be through social media or the Internet. We need people on the ground engaging the youth to do more for the places in which they live. You would be amazed at what we can do if you ask us. We believe in your message, hold us to account and you will not be disappointed. All we ask is that you establish the framework for us to work within and recognize us for our efforts.

2. Encourage state and local governments realize the value of a mobilized citizenry - We can move mountains if you ask us, but if you don’t ask and inspire us to do so you will never realize this goal. There are vast untapped resources of human capital in our communities that have never been recognized because institutions do not understand how to reach them or understand that people want to be involved. In this economy, in this recession, we must learn to rely on each other more than ever because that is the American way. Help us become involved by making sure our public servants understand that which you already do. 

3. Don’t settle for less than our best - You will need to push us to continue our service, challenge us to do more with less, set forth lofty goals and show us the way to achieve them. We are asking you to push us to do more, my generation is asking you to push us as people who want to live up to the memory of our fathers and our grandfathers. We aren’t soft, we just haven’t been challenged like they were but now is the time for the challenge. We encourage to publically motivate us, call on us in speeches to do more and show us what can be done by average Americans.

4. Realize what you have done - Your platform of change has not only gotten you elected to the highest office in our country but has inspired masses of people who need hope. Don’t underestimate what hope does to people or what kind of strength it will give them . Despite what others were saying in the campaign, the concept of hope counts for more than many other tangible promises or goods. Hope can inspire people to do great things and that is what you have brought to us. Realize this reality and use it to our country’s advantage but do not take advantage of us. If you learn to harness this power and focus it on the betterment of our society we will once again be the pinnacle of what it means to be a free and democratic society.

These are my thoughts Mr. Obama, from a 26 year old who has never had the chance to be inspired by anyone like I have during this election. There are millions other like me waiting for you to lead us to the next great era of service and prosperity in this country. We want what every generation of Americans have before us; a safe place to live that is prosperous and not afraid of ambitious people willing to work hard to achieve their dreams. We are waiting Mr. Obama just say the word.

Thank You Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III

It has been a long time since I wrote a post, but this situation requires that I post a sincere “thank you” from a grateful nation this evening. Days after the event, Mr. Sullenberger of US Air is a man that we all owe so much too and has shown a true will to live even when everything is going wrong. I didn’t have any loved ones on the jet that crashed, but at least 155 other people did and they will be forever grateful to this man. I can only hope that I have someone with the skill and composure that Mr. Sullenberger had that day with me should I ever be in a situation that calls for heroic action. Our hats are off to you Mr. Sullenberger and know that you have the thanks of a grateful nation for your ability to persevere and save lives even in the most desperate situations.

Are you Ready for the Snow this Year?

When All You Want to Do is Work…

What do you do when all you want to do is work in the town you live in, serve your community, and do what is best for your family? That is the situation I am in right now, I have applied for a job in Hagerstown, interviewed and now am waiting on whether or not I will get the position. The worst part is that I don’t know if I will be considered seriously because I am younger than what they likely expect and it just makes me very anxious.

I guess I just had to write this down since I have been thinking about it for the past few days and at this point I just want to know one way or another. I guess I will find out…

Maryland: Four airlines apply to serve Hagerstown

WASHINGTON COUNTY — Four companies have applied to provide commercial air service out of Hagerstown Regional Airport through a federal subsidy.

via Maryland: Four airlines apply to serve Hagerstown

Bailout Detroit? I Think Not.

Let the Detroit auto makers fail, let them go into bankruptcy and fail just like any other American company does when they have mismanaged themselves into a financial nightmare.

Why is it that as soon as a big company gets in trouble now all of the Senators in Washington and the Representatives in the House all want to bail them out? There is no need for it and it goes against every free market principle that the country is built on. GM, Chrysler and Ford vehicles have been terrible for years and now we want to save them and postpone the inevitable? They did not respond to industry forces when they should have, they completely ignored America’s pleas for more fuel efficient vehicles and failed to improve the quality of their existing fleet of vehicles when they could have. By failing in these areas did they not expect companies like Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Daewoo, Kia and others to move in and take their market share?

So if you can’t back them up because of sound business practices then the argument becomes that they are too big to fail, especially in this economy. Why is that? Because so many people would lose their jobs? Let me tell you Washington, another 20,000 at this point seems to be a number of very little importance from this perspective. Why don’t you tell the hundreds of thousands that already have why you didn’t bail their companies out?

Not only are they not too big to fail (any company can) but if they go into bankruptcy, there is a strong chance that better managed automaker will buy their assets and keep the brand alive. The GM, Chrysler and Ford brands still carry a very iconic stature in the US and any other automaker would love to add them to their portfolio. These new investors might also actually bring in the new ideas needed to turn the brands around as well which is what the autoworkers need more than anything else right now since even with the bailout thousands more get laid off each year.

So Washington, keep your nose out of the free market in this case. The banks may have been a special case, but companies that do not control the entire financial system should not carry any special clout when asking for a bailout. It will be hard when they fail initially but I can tell you now that it needs to happen in order to make our economy stronger once again. The last thing we need to do is face this again later on, we might as well get the pain over with now.

2008 Mummers Parade – A Family Event?

I saw this in Mail Call today:

“I was calling to just let everybody know that I thought the Mummers Parade was one of the best that I’ve seen in probably the last 10 years.”

— Hagerstown

No Offense to anyone who really liked this parade this year, but the crowd that turned out for it was not something I would let my kids come out to. Constant swearing and vulgar comments. Hearing grown men and fathers talk about how they would have loved to knock someone out on their front porch while their kids are around?

Sorry Hagerstown, but you still have a lot of cleaning up to do before I consider these events worthwhile going to.

Relgion in Schools

The genius of mail call and this area:

“Inmate population, 9,000. If we can’t have religion in our schools, which is greatly needed, why in the world do we allow it in the prisons? … Why do we allow religion in the prisons, and not in the schools?”

Maybe because in prisons no one is forced to sit through a service? Maybe because there is this little clause called separation of church and state in the constitution?

If you want your kids to have a religious education send them to private school. You have an option, don’t complain if you don’t want to take it.

Washington County Votes for McCain, No Suprise There

So the official election results have been available for several days now:

http://www.washco-md.net/election/2008Gen.htm

And to no surprise the McCain / Palin ticket won the majority in the county. What amazes me though is the fact that so many people in this area thought they would actually benefit from John McCain. I read the following in an article in the Herald Mail a few days ago:

David Peters, 27, of Hagerstown, disagreed. He said a majority of Washington County residents voted for McCain because the Arizona senator had more experience.

“(McCain) knows more about politics,” Peters said. “Obama didn’t know a lot. All he wanted to do was raise taxes. I wouldn’t have liked that. Now, it’s going to happen.”

I would love to know if David actually is making more than $250,000 per year. My money is on he is not making even a third of that. The simple fact is that Western Maryland average incomes have never benefited from republican policy. The vast majority of people out here are not executives but working class folks that need all the breaks they can get. When the median household income hovers around $35,000 per year, I find it hard to believe why someone would support a candidate whose tax plan pretty much only reduced capital gains taxes on people who make a lot of money with investments.

The fact is that most people did not choose McCain because they thought he “is the better man” as the article suggests. People in Washington county chose McCain and Palin because they hold much more conservative religious beliefs and he has Military service on his record. While there is nothing wrong with either, it is hard to say if they make him a better man than Barack Obama for leading a country. The presidency is about making policy, not determining Military strategy and tactics on the ground, nor is the presidency about setting the religious standards in this country.

When it comes down to who is the better person for the presidency, the better person is the one who can energize people, talk eloquently, rally the support of foreign nations and present a much more inviting face to the rest of the world. Not to mention make intelligent policy decisions without relying on only one strength to guide them such as military experience. It’s time for America to realize that in order to be effective, we must utilize diplomacy but maintain the threat of military force, utilizing it only sparingly as needed. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Better to have people fear what you could do, then show what you can. I think Barack will understand this along with the rest of his military and policy team. I think this is something that someone not so ingrained in the military culture of the country can truly understand and utilize to great effect.

So do we have the best person from the candidates possible entering the White House? Yes, I think we do. Is he young and somewhat untested on the world stage? Absolutely. Is this such a bad thing? No it is not. Barack has a lot to prove and a lot to live up to, but bringing a non-insider attitude to the White House is a plus. He also has the presence of mind to surround himself with some of the greatest political and military thinkers of this era which will provide him with advice for the situations he has never faced in his own life. This will be a collaboration, a truly team effort and one that should make us all proud since pooling the strengths of individuals is what makes America so strong. I believe we will be proven to be strong once again in the coming four years as well.