Monthly Archives: April 2010

Dire Distress? Hardly

The Mayor of Great Falls, Montana, Michael Winters, was angered that some (or at least one) of the Tea Party protestors in Great Falls were flying the flag of the United States upside down as a signal for distress.  He confronted the protestors and it got a little testy.

The Mayor’s views about this issue were printed in the April 7 Great Falls Tribune (not on-line that I can find) and a letter to the editor was also printed on the same day giving one of the protestor’s point of view about the issue.

You can read the story HERE.  The comment section of the story was popping with over 300 comments as of today.

I applaud Mayor Winters for his actions.  Heck, I salute him.  If he runs again, I may vote for him!  Maybe Winters should not have used such “salty” language, but nevertheless he got his point across and that is good.  Thank you Mr. Mayor.

Title 36, Chapter 10, of the U.S. Code states:

The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

I don’t see where the person flying the flag upside down was in extreme danger to his/her life or property.

By the way, having Barack Obama as our President or Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi running Congress does not fit into this category no matter which way you spin it.

I attended a Tea Party event last year and I personally believe that there should be less spending by our Federal government.  Yes, I believe that I am taxed way too much.

But to fly the flag upside down takes their protests into the gutter.  They lose my support on this one.  I’m sure not all of the protestors on this particular day supported the actions of the man flying the flag upside down, but they should have policed their own.  So yes, the Tea Party protestors that day are to blame for letting their protest get into the gutter.

By the way, for the “constitutional scholars” reading this, I could really care less what our courts say about the freedom to treat our flag unpatriotically.  Most of the people serving as judges in this country never wore our country’s uniform.  Most don’t understand what the flag means to a veteran.

As a veteran, I could say that I served our country so these people could protest and do with the flag whatever.  Some of my friends died protecting our country and our freedoms.  But that’s easy to say.  It’s just not right to treat our flag this way, period.

After the actions of at least one member of the Tea Party at this protest and the others allowing it to happen, it really places doubts in my mind that this movement has the answers to our country’s problems.

By the way, April 15 is now open on my calendar.

Nuclear Posture Review Released

The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) was released this morning.  The document is about 72 pages and can be viewed HERE.  Some of my readers are probably asking why the NPR is so important.  According to the Department of Defense (DoD):

The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is a legislatively-mandated review that establishes U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for the next five years to ten years.

So, it’s important because it is the blueprint for the next five-10 years in regards to our nuclear missions.  Since I have many years of experience working in this field from near and far, I try to keep up on the latest happenings and offer my humble opinion about what the leaders of our nation are trying to do.

So, here are some of the things that caught my eye in regards to ICBMs after reading the NPR: Continue reading →

Jesus is Alive!

The time around Easter is interesting.  We see stories and commentaries about religion and God from many sources.  I even saw a poll or two.  I’m sure this is not the first time nor will it be the last that a poll was conducted about Jesus Christ.

According to a poll released on Easter Sunday from Rasmussen Reports about Easter:

Today’s the day Christians believe Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and 78% of Americans share that belief.

I am one of the 78% – and I am proud to say it.  I am also one of the three in ten in this poll who attends Church at least once per week (Ok, I don’t make it every week, but most weeks I am there). Continue reading →

Only Three Left

The Associated Press (AP) recently ran a story about the future of the 450 nuclear weapons in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming – more or less looking at the economic impact of closing or cutting the number of missiles at these bases would have on the local communities.  All in all it was a pretty good story from the AP.

You can read it HERE.

Great Falls Mayor Michael Winters (a Veteran) was quoted in the story saying, “Each and every facet of our economy has something to do with Malmstrom.”

No kidding.

The Department of Defense (DoD) does not really take into consideration how closing a base will harm a community.  They could care less.  If it happens, the Feds will just throw a few grants to the communities, create a website for communities to use, and maybe assign a couple of people to act as liaisons for a year or so, and then ride off into the sunset touting the savings.    Continue reading →