Update 08/23/2006: See link at the end of the original post!

A few months ago, I added a few thoughts I had about the efforts by the green people to balance the system of the Earth, and thereby the Universe….I just now realized that’s the same thinking before Copernicus had his ideas accepted, so this set of Earth centric thinking is actually medival at it’s very core….

Anyhow….yesterday’s paper had an interesting article:

“Trying to help the ozone, with unintended effects”

WASHINGTON – Cool your home, warm the planet.

When more than two dozen countries undertook in 1989 to fix the ozone hole over Antarctica, they began replacing chloroflourocarbons in refrigerators, air conditioners and hair spray.

But, using other gases that contain chlorine or fluorine also contributes greatly to global warming.

CFCs destroy ozone, the atmospheric layer that helps protect against the sun’s most harmful rays, and trap the earth’s heat, contributing to a rise in average surface temperatures.

In theory, the ban should have helped both problems. But the countries that signed the Montreal Protocol didn’t realize that CFC users would seek out the cheapest alternative.

The chemicals that replaced CFCs are better for the ozone layer, but do little to help global warming. These chemicals, too, act as a reflective layer in the atmosphere that traps heat like a greenhouse.

Wow…first it was the skies are getting too dirty, so we have to clean up the plannet, so we don’t have an ice age, only to find out a clearer atmosphere allows more of the sun’s energy to reach us, and thereby heats up the atmosphere, so we now are in a warming cycle.

I’m not for blatant waste and environmental destruction, but I think it’s quite arrogant of us to think we can possibly comprehend the mechanisms involved with the plant’s climatology, and try to pass laws to make “the system” conform to the desires of a few people who need more grant money to justify their jobs….

So, I open up Netscape this moring, and one of the featured articles is about how the ozone hole has stabilized:

“Ozone hole stable, say scientists”

Leading scientists in the United States say the hole in the ozone layer of the Earth’s atmosphere above the Antarctic appears to have stopped widening.

The ozone layer blocks the Sun’s ultra-violet rays, exposure to which is harmful to humans, animals and plants.

International agreements were reached to end the use of ozone-depleting chemicals called CFCs after the hole was discovered in 1986.

It is hoped the hole may “heal” fully over the next 60 years.

So…here we are. Some scientists say it’s stable (note in the main article on the stability of the hole, the Dr Susan Solomon is the scientist quoted is the one who originally “found” the hole”). Who are we to believe now?

I think it’s time to share my meager readership with others. Lord knows I’ve filched enough for my sitemeter through the graciousness of others in the blogosphere, most notably GreyHawk at Mudville Gazette. I still can’t get a ping thru to his blog with WordPress, even with standalone pingers….:(

The “event” will be weekly and appear Wednesday afternoons (when the sun is over the yardarm). I’ll make an attempt to post a short “sea story” and you will post links to your postings to that post!

This is in the vein of “Full Bore Friday” from CDR Salmander, “Flight Deck Friday” by SteelJaw Scribe, and others who have a special category of writings weekly (Hey, guys….what’s with the friday thing? Run out of work to do?)

Check back after noon local (EDT) this Wednesday for the first one…..

Oh…to place a trackback, copy the link to the post, then append “/trackback” to the link in your trackback pinging tool of choice. They then show up as comments. I’ll dig about to see if there is a way to pull them up into the main post automagically via some WordPress plugin (and if you know how…please share the secret!).

Bumper Sticker:

“Things have never been the same since that house fell on my sister.”

Over the weekend, I got a little busy in pulling over posts from the “Junior” blog and then updated links. It’s a long and tedious process, but when you have to a scan through a number of posts you did a year to almost two years ago, you see some interesting things. Well, I did any way….

I’m trying to get some of the more notable posts over, and not pursuing the project in any particular sequence, as some posts spanned several writings, and crossed boundries of months.

I mentioned some of the earlier issues of moving from Blogger to my own domain and switching to WordPress as my blogging software in this post.

One of the pitfalls is Blogger only lets you work with up to 300 posts. Those you can pull up and edit. After that, the best bet to get to older posts is to go to the blog, select the month, then right click and “View Source”. You can’t edit that page that comes up, but you can copy and paste the contents into NotePad. From there, I cut and paste the specific posts into WordPress, just like I was wrtinig it new…

I have been trying to faithfully retain the time the original article is posted, which can be done by putting the original data into the “Time Poststamp” on the entry in WordPress, and making sure the “Edit TimeStamp” box is checked when you publish. That way, the post moves to the right place in the blog time continum for historical purposes.

Anyhow…as I have seen Capt Lex doing lately (and who would not want to emulate a fine idea?), he has posted links to some older posts of his own. Here are a few of my personal favorites:

• The Battle Off Samar – 60th Anniversary
• What is Happening in Iraq Because of the Vietnam Experience – Part I
• “Sir, would you like to conn the ship?”

Enjoy!

Just blowing off some steam here. If you’re not in the mood for a rant, move along. If you are, scroll down…

A few weeks ago, I found a new blog and I linked into the comments on one of the posts. There were some statements there, presented as the opinions of the commenters, yet and I had personal experience with the issues being discussed. While the comments were not totally off the edge, they were leaning far over the side, ready to fall off the cliff. I entered my own comments. As a basis for my comments, I used my own personal experience, not that of others, as they had discussed. In my remarks, I even admitted that a part of what they stated was true, but there was a far bigger picture to understand. They had formed their opinions based on a small sample size, you might say. I thought it would be useful to provide some more input. I did end on a note indicating I thought that with the ability to research vast amounts of information in the net these days, it would be useful to do some homework, before making those comments. I’ll admit, I could have left that part out.

I went back the next day. The response was interesting, yet I think it encapsulates so much of what happens on the net. The main commenter on that blog launched into me, telling me I had no right to tell them to do their homework, and further more, he didn’t care what I had been doing in 1972 (that was an integral part of the first person report, relating to the issue of Vietnam), since he wasn’t alive at that time anyhow. Besides, he had formed his opinion based on the comment made by one of his friends. Wow. I think his “I don’t care” remark actually summed up his basic demeanor.

The owner of the blog’s response was to tell that guy he was off base, but then she made an interesting point: She was just stating her opinions, and, after all, isn’t that what blogs are all about? Yes, I agree, but the thing that sticks in my throat is what is an opinion.

Too many things these days ask our “opinion.” The many polls and surveys we are bombarded with try to get us to believe that those 1000 people surveyed essentially represent the over all feelings on an issue. That certainly could be the truth, as it used to be, but now that we have “dumbed down” our youth, many times I think the “advice” of those who don’t even know where most other countries in the world are, let alone what the Constitution says may not be the best ones to ask. Opinions, like feelings it seems these days, are our own personal domain, and inviolate.

I have a different view, which may help to bring the understanding of opinions back to reality. Here’s a dictionary definition of “opinion” with the help of Merriam-Webster:

1) Judgment;
2) a belief stronger than impression and less strong than personal knowledge;
3) a formal statement by an expert after careful study.

All great stuff here. Here is more way too detailed analysis:

Judgment, from the same dictionary, in this scenario is best represented by this definition: “the process of forming an opinion by discerning and comparing.”

“A belief stronger than…” I guess it comes down to how you assess the strength of your thoughts on the subject.

“An expert…” is someone “showing special skill or knowledge.”

Ok, I think I was on firm ground in representing my experiences on the subject matter, yet “it’s our opinion” that takes top level position.

Looking at my :”opinions,” I have found they have changed over time, as I have been exposed to, or gained more information. Am I correct in my opinions? Well, if it’s an opinion I hold, then it is something I will have to admit I do not have “strong personal knowledge” of the topic, unless, as an expert, I am asked to comment, then my “opinion” takes on the weight approaching fact.

While in the service, I had to conduct two JAG Manual Investigations as the investigating officer. I essentially wrote two more, but then they were signed by senior officers, who were the designated investigating officers. This is where I learned where “opinions” fit into the hierarchy of information.

A “JAGMAN” had three basic sections:

1) Finding of Fact
2) Opinions
3) Conclusions/Recommendations

The first section listed all the hard, cold facts you found. The supporting documentation for these facts were enclosed in the investigation ad appendices, in order to provide the reviewers up the chain of command with the ability to fact check you. If you couldn’t find a source for it, it wasn’t a fact. That’s pretty easy to understand. For example, let’s say some of the facts are:

1) Seaman Smotz was not aboard the USS NEVERSAIL on March 15th, 2005, when the ship departed 32nd Street Naval Station, San Diego, CA (Appendix A: OI Division Muster Report of 3/15/2005)
2) Seaman Smotz was present for Muster on USS NEVERSAIL on March 14th, 2005 (Appendix B: OI Division Muster Report of 3/14/2005)
3) The Plan of the Day for March 14th, 2005 aboard USS NEVERSAIL listed the time and date for reporting aboard on March 15th, 2005 for the planned Ship’s movement. (Appendix C: USS NEVERSAIL POD 3/14/2005)
4) OI Division Leading Chief Petty Officer Smith read entire USS NEVERSAIL POD to the assembled OI Division during Muster on March 14th, 2005. (Appendix D: Sworn statement of OSC(SW) Leighton Smith, USN dated 3/31/2005)

The opinion section was not how you felt about it, but a series of observations of the collected factual information. From the facts, you derived opinions. You listed the paragraph numbers of the findings of fact that led you to those “opinions.” This also allowed the reviewers with an understanding of how you arrived at these opinions. From the above facts, then opinions are formed:

1) Seaman Smotz was aware of the planned movement of USS NEVERSAIL on March 15th, 2005, to include the reporting aboard time that day. (FOF 1-4)

You couldn’t prove he paid attention to the reading of the Plan of the Day, which was read and the essential written orders for reporting time were delineated. By forming the opinion that his presence provided ample opportunity to hear the information allows an opinion of his understanding, but you can take it no further.

You got to add some of your “feelings” in the conclusions and recommendations.

Not that opinions need to be left to the experts, but that, as more facts are gained, that an opinion will either be solidified into a fact, or it will have to change, when the facts show the presently held opinion no longer fits the conditions.

It’s great to have opinions, but when someone presents a personal testimony, not their opinion, and the response is: “Well, it’s just my opinion” seems to be the mantra of these days, which seems to translate into: “I don’t care what you say, I’m hanging onto my opinion.”

Notice: This post will evolve and expand this evening (8/18) and now into 8/19. Lots of issues here, just in case someone decides we need to protect out coastline. I’m starting it now to get the thought process going, but if you’re interested, check back late tonight or tomorrow for more of my insights.

Got this from Milblogs and the poster there, Eagle1, has more at his site, including a 7/26/06 post.

I feel like adding my two cents and I will “fisk” myself, using my own comments I posted on Eagle1’s blog:

A thorny issue indeed. Many years gone by, there were NIKE AJAX and HERCULES, as well as BOMARC missile sites all around the US, near major cities to defeat the threat of manned bombers.

I grew up near the Renton, WA Boeing plant, and a family friend got me a factory model of a IM-99 BOMARC missile, complete with the TEL.

How can we possibly manage a coast line defense without massive expeditures, let alone the acquisitions of real estate in all of the places we would need to park a RADAR/SAM Site?

First issue: While ballistic missiles go up, with enough altitude to show well beyond local horizon, we’ll need outward looking RADAR systems to continually scanning the horizon, on the azimuths of the expected threat….At the very least, we’d have to place many RADAR sites on the East, Gulf and West coastlines for protection. We could decline to place them on the Northern and Southern border, as the threat is postualted, in this case, to be sea launched. We would have to acquire plots of land, every so many vulnerable miles to allow siting the defense systems. The effort and the cost would be staggering to cover all three coasts, so some hard decisions would have to be made, as to which places were of “high value.” Who would make this decision matrix up?

If we choose to only protect some areas, then, as demonstrated by the terrorists, the tactics are to go for the weak spots. What if a “tramp steamer” was modified to carry North Korean manufactred SCUDs? As a result, the non-/less defended areas would most likely become the targets of choice for those wishing to make a point. The follow on outcry would parallel that of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with citizens with loud voices, would have expected that every single square inch of American soil and neighborhood was protected with 100% certainty. The human wreckage would be bad enough, but the political fallout would be horrific, as we seem we are no longer able to understand the Federal Government cannot take care of everyone, everywhere.

It’s not out of the question, these days, that other than nation sates with military power, have access and support (financial, logistical and training) to field and use weapons of increasing size and complexity. The Israelis found this out when a CS-801 anti-ship missile was launched from the vicinity of Beriut.

Second issue: Land acquisition. My father worked for years in Montana, North and South Dakota (and other states in the vicinity I’m sure) as an Army Corps of Engineers land appraiser. He travelled most of the time in my early years, finding and procuring land for Minute Man silos. I do recall discussions, once in a while about “condemning” property back then, and have come to understand years later that’s what we have come to know as “eminent domain.” I’m also sure, the cost wasn’t cheap for that level of national security to be put in place.

While I was on active duty, my dad visited me in Virginia Beach, there to work on getting the local community to grant easements for the land around Oceana Master Jet Base. The Navy wanted agriculture only. That was when Viginia Beach was the fastest growing city in the US, during the Reagan military build up. With the building of Lynnhaven Mall in early 80’s, there was concern such a large shopping center would be located essentailly under the landing and approach patern for a busy air station, not to mention, more and more farm land was being sold, and both commercial and residential building was taking place around there. The response from the City Council/community was: “If you want the land to be free of buildings…then buy it!” What would happen now if we had to purchase beachfront property, particularly when it’s near population centers (to be defended) at today real estate pricing? Think about the cost…more comments later in this article related to this topic.

I’m wondering if RCA is proposing the SPY-1 Series, in a block house, with a MK-41 VLS matrix in a self contained blockhouse arrangement.

Call it “MOTS” (Military Off the Shelf), for purposes of discussion, but…there are systems developed, tested, deployed and documented in our hands right now. The ideal shopping list of equipment would be from those items deployed aboard Navy combatants, as they are designed for maximum capability, using minimum space and limited resources. The logistics chain is already established and the only issue would be quantities, from a contracting standpoint.

I mentioned the AN/SPY-1(series) phased array RADAR, and the AN/SPG-99 Illimuniators because they have proven themselves with several decades of service. The proof of concept on this type of shore based installation has been in place for many years, being nicknamed the “Cornfield Cruiser” near the RCA plant in Moorstown, NJ. The MK-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) missile matrix is already certified to operate with several types of anti-aircraft weapons. Other choice might be the Rolling Airframe Missile with the modified MK-15 Close In Weapons System mounting for point defense of the RADAR site itself. Toss in the AN/USG-2(V) Cooperative Engagement System (CEC) capability for intercommunications between nodes. All this stuff is in service right now.

All you’d have to solve is the radio frequency interference (RFI) issues when operating high powered RADAR. The issue there is when the US and the Soviet Union put over the horizon early warning radars on the line in the late 70’s, the exceptionally high strength signal “splattered about the RF spectrum, and Amatuer Radio Operators referred to the signals as “the Woodpecker” for it’s characteristic interference signal in serval bands. These sites would play havoc with local TV and radio reception, a necessary side effect for the trade off of defense.

Another particulalry interesting issue involved in placing such things in a neighborhood, since explosives ordnance will be present, is the blast radius of detonating ordnance in the event of that unplanned circumstance. One other project my father worked on was the possibility of building an ammo pier on Guam, in one of the bays on the SW part of the island (this was during the height of the VN war, and the B-52s out of Anderson AFB hauled a lot of bombs). I do recall sitting at the kitchen table, looking at aerial phots of the area, with concentric circles superimposed on them. The inner circle was the area where houses would be leveled, the second, I believe was major strutural damage and the third, where glass windows would be blown out. Of course they had to plan for an entire ship load of ordnance exploding, not merely something like 16 SM-3 anti-air missiles. In any case, this is not an issue most real estate agents have to consider. In other words, the physical space for the site, in terms of land procurement is one issue, but then having a cleared, safe area, in the event of explosions, adds to the acreage needed. It would be costly.

Questions:

1) If we can’t get people in Martha’s Vineyard to allow wind generators on towers off the beach, how will we get them to accept the placement of a phased array and a booster disgarding missile system “just down the block” from their house?

Even when last years devestating hurricanes helped (once again) to point out our dependence on foreign oil, not only did the beach residents of MA say “NOT IN MY FIELD OF VIEW (will you construct those ugly wind towers)!”, but the CA and FL congressmen banded together, across party lines, to ensure no oil drilling would occur with 250 miles of a beach (unless you’re Chinese oil rigs working for Cubans). So if too high gas prices won”t allow measures to solve the problem, would the concept of placing systems as decribed above work any better? And, in actual fact, it’s not like you can just lobby to place your defensive system (for your locale) in a less affluent neighborhood, because defense is about location and geometry, and cares not even a little for the economic topography….

2) If we don’t want to fund manpower to sit as virtual TAOs at each site (wow…job opportunity for retired SWOs!), is there a plan to have a centrally located node with the RADAR/ESM sensor data being transmittded to where the decision maker will sit a 24/7/365 watch?

3) If the manpower is too much money for the taxpayers liking, will “we” accept software control of engagements (which…is already a proven function in several systems)? Will we choose an MS operating system to manage the functions, and if so, will Bill Gates allow the review of the software at the code level?

Ah, more to blog on….I have some background in the field…

Software safety. Big issue. Worthy of tackling when I can pull out the mental coal shovel, so I’ll end this tale for the night. Check back for more tomorrow (late day)

In Part I, I laid the foundation for the rest of this recitation of events now twenty years in the past. Catch up if you need to.

Armed with antecdotal understanding of the next generation of anit-surface missiles, new RADAR capabilites, a little more understanding of the SH-60B sensor and weapons suite, our staff began many meetings around the table in the conference room in the front of Building W-5, first deck. How would a notional battle group, with a BB as the central unit, be able to project power? Implied, and how can it keep itself knowledgable of the local tactical environment? A big challenge, since we were used to just calling for aircraft from the CV to help us paint the picture of who was who in the briny blue neighborhood. Out of the question. Some land based VP assets, or possibly AWACS, may be available, but just grabbing the secure phone to AREC (air resource coordinator) wasn’t going to cut it. Tasking (to use staff weenies): Solve the problem. No option to report that all options were investigated and it was a bone headed idea. Anyhow, we “appreciated” a challenge.

Along the way to a proposed plan, we began casting nets in various directions, soliciting help. This led to us getting to know the commander at CINCLANTFLT (CLF) in charge of the Tomahawk mission planners. We corraled the crypto guys and, flashed our clearances and demanded details on what info they could provide us. That was good for most, but our Commodore demanded that we find out how it worked, which came to be a major factor in not only the planning, but the follow on analysis of the days at sea. Being insistent paid off. We sat down with the Joint Cruise Missile Project Office (JCMPO) guys and picked their brains. In retrospect, their job was to nudge the system to a fully successful set of conditions, so sometimes, the data seemed useful, but, we found out, sometimes wasn’t the tactical truth to make the rubber meet the road.

The master plan was not only to have the real cooperative mobile target of the WILLIAM V PRATT for four days, the SPRU Can for about two, but CLF was happy to build a pile of “virtual” tracks. At the time, we called them “constructive” tracks, but in today’s market, virtual is a better descriptor. We also had CLF arrange priority tasking for assets to provide long range intel and warning “tippers.”

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***Welcome LGF and MilBlogs readers!**** Feel free to look around the blog…

One more anniversary passes of the end of WWII.

Wouldn’t you know it was a Sailor who made the timeless pose for the celebration of the end of WWII.

For those of you who have been reading a while, you may have read the stories of my friend who flew gliders way back then. This day, 61 years removed, set history as a man with his youth, his French girlfriend, a small spotter plane, and full of bravado did something, well, shall we say “different” (but certainly not out of character for those who venture into the skies in combat aircraft…)

This past June 6th, I posted some more details Jim Helinger, Sr., passed along to me regrading his duty. By this time, I had also scanned in the few remaining pictures he has of those days gone by. They are in that post.

So, hopefully you’re still scratching your head and wondering what Jim did, and what a French girlfriend has to do with VJ day in 1945.

The story begins here. If you want the details, chase the links to part II and then to the final segment, Part III (link provided for those with little patience, or time today).

I used to wonder about Jim’s claim of this “first,” but have come to see it’s entirely feasible. I found these excellent photos by Christopher Michels (who was a Navy P-3C Naval Flight Officer). One of his sets was of the Eiffel Tower at night.

Using your old intel photographer training, you can see from the size of the people under the tower that there’s plenty of room for an L-5 Stinson Spotter plane to ge through there safely.

Thanks to LGF for a place to share good news and John of Castle ARRGGHH!! for the trackback and Plank’s Constant for the Open Trackback, < ahref="http://www.conservativecat.com/mt/archives/2005/12/continue_the_co.html">The Conservative Cat for the floating trackback festival, Blue Star Chronicles for the Open Trackback, The Pirates Cove for the Open Trackback!

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20 years ago, I got involved in an interesting exercise. The roots of the participation began during the cruise I discussed in the series “A Journey Into History.”

After relaxing from the hectic operations of the three CV battle groups, we headed west to the states. Sometime during the transit, tasking arrived for our staff to handle two Operational Test Launches (OTL) for Tomahawk in August. The plan was to exercise operational control of a two ship unit that would shoot two TLAM exercise rounds at the range on Eglin AFB.

Internally, our tasking was to “read everything there is written on Tomahawk.” Back then, must of the documentation was in the initial stages of being put in a tactical format, and only one TACNOTE existed for operational guidance, everything else was technical documentation.

The staff I was assigned two was one of the “Tactical DESRONs,” which complimented the “READRONs.” I ention this for a little history of the surface Navy’s organization at the time. TACDESRONs were flaters in the grand scheme of operational schedulers, middlegrade and upper level officer and enlisted “nomads.” On paper, we had a chain of command through a CRUDES group commander, but they rarely tasked us. We were operationally attached to deploying BG commanders, which may be Carrier Groups or Crusier-Destroyer group types, and our operations became linked to their work ups. Since we didn’t have any individual functions, for the early part of the deployment cycle work ups, while ships and air squadrons individually worked on their training, we were floaters for use for anyhting else that happened. This method of our use never gave us any real down time, as we never needed to go into the yards, a drydock, or any sort of maintenance availability. Net result: We got to meet a lot of ship’s company personnel from all over the East Coast. That’s how we came to get the assignment for the Tomahawk firings. Some of you will have read between the lines on what this meant for OPTEMPO, and if you didn’t, it’s not important.

We got a few days to spend with the families on return from the Med, and then it was in the pubs, on the phones and off to meetings, looking for any piece of information on THawks. We met with the Project Office guys, who told us about the test objectives. We hounded the Surface Warfare Development Group (SWDG) for more info. We re, re-read, and re-re-read the TACNOTE, then sat in meetings with the Commodore, discussing what we had learned. We thought we knew a lot, after the extensive study.

USS IOWA (BB-61), USS CONOLLY (DD-979) and USS DOYLE (FFG-39) were the three ships assigned to us, and along with that came addtional tasking. COMSECONDFLT staff directed us to also develop and test over-the-horizon targeting (OTHT) tactics for Battleship Battle Groups (BBBG) use. Assigned to us for this purpose was USS WILLIAM V PRATT (DDG-44) to act as a “cooperative mobile target” and one ship, a SPRUANCE Class DD (it may have been the USS PETERSON) headed to Guantanamo Bay for training to cooperate as possible enroute Cuba. We dug further into what ever we could find to figure out how to exploit the range of the Tomahawk Anit-Ship Missile, given the nominal resouces of the proposed BBBG. A LAMPS MK III single plane detachment would embark on DOYLE, and the CONOLLY would have her normal LAMPS MK I SH-2F Sea Sprite. We would have some hours of support from a pair of S-3B Vikings equipped with the very new, cutting edge, inverse synthetic aperature radar (ISAR). The Vikings would come from the Pax River assets, and I think were the only equipped units at the time.

There you have the initial layout: Lots of new toys that would be coming to the fleet, or had just begun to arrive aboard, that had to be leveraged to get the most out of the reason we bought them. Seeing as how the Commodore was a man who believed that intimate knowledge of details would lead you to the big picture, we spnt many, many and the many more hours, trying to gather the info, but then to game out how it might work best in a real seaborne envirnment.

Stay tuned. I’ll have to do this one in parts….

Part II here

A few days ago, I pontificated at the world’s upside-down logic. Today, we have something that makes sense.

If there was a country, that had a violently subversive element within its borders, and they were preparing an attack on a country outside of the one it was it, what would the right reaction be?

Well, as one sage leader of mine said: “Everyone can be used for something, even if it is a bad example.”

Bad Example: Lebanon – lets the submersive element perform their attack and avert your eyes.

Good Example: England – collar the miscreants, and save the many innocent lives that would have been effective, because you care about being a member of the world community.

Today is a time when comon sense and decency has stepped onto center stage. Amazingly, some have already tried to characterize this as a president trying to scare people.