Tuesday, June 6. 2006
Noodles are from China. 4000 year-old noodles found. $275/hour. That's what some SAT tutors are getting in Westchester County, NY, according to Opie. Home schooling as a lifestyle choice. NYT The US would be just fine without immigrant labor. NYT Opinion The anti-Chavez backlash in South America. That didn't take long. WaPo How to be a post-modernist in 2 easy steps. Humbug Dan at A Slower Pace is trying to make his life more sane. Since I enjoy his blog, I will refrain from suggesting that giving up blogging might be a first step.
Monday, June 5. 2006
This piece came in over the transom: Barbara Walters of Television's 20/20 did a story on gender roles in
Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict. She noted
that women customarily walked 5 paces behind their husbands.
She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walk
behind their husbands. From Ms. Walter's vantage point, despite the
overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem to walk
even further back behind their husbands and are happy to maintain the
old custom.
Ms. Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, "Why do you now seem happy with the old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?"
The woman looked Ms. Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation, said,
"Land Mines."
Border-cams. Monitored by anyone! There's an idea. The Toronto Star cannot figure out what these guys have in common. Maybe they're just mixed up kids? The Toronto Bomb - how big? Great White North What's your opinion? Did she say that illegals can vote?
 Academic frauds. RWN covers the subject here. What pompous morons. But how can they enter reality, if they remain in lala land? And student idiots. Can anyone imagine an 18 year-old turning in his teacher for this? DO NOT hire this guy - too dumb for life. This kid has clearly been TAUGHT by the nice teacher - but he cannot LEARN. And he is no gentleman. Loonies complain about circus elephants. Please! Who wouldn't want to be a circus elephant? It's a good gig. See no evil. The Clinton administration, Al Quaida, and Able Danger. Front Page. CARS. This movie is going to be big. Adults will need to find some kid as an excuse to go. Trailer here. Dr. Sanity takes a look at the narcissism of politics, and the corruption which grows from it. Makes sense to me. Media terror against the USA: noDNC figured out why they do it. Inconvenient truths: Terrorist arrests ignored. Ace Do not look. Some disgusting and entirely tasteless photos from Maggie's Farm fan and Lansing radio host Rich Michaels.
Saturday, June 3. 2006
Is this news? It's like Dog Bites Man. Of 
course, ducks always eat aliens, wherever
they can find them, now that they have no food due to Bush's Global Warming Crisis. That's why we see so few inter-galactic aliens around, these days. And so many fat ducks. It's a no-brainer: the ducks are obviously eating up all of the aliens - because of Bush. It doesn't take a scientist to put 1 and 1 together. What do you expect the ducks to eat? MacDonalds? Poached salmon with dill sauce? Oysters Rockefeller? They do not seem to have taken to eating illegal aliens quite yet: give them time to adjust to the jalapeno and cilantro flavors, and they will gobble them up, too. Image: North America's flamboyant but blood-thirsty Wood Duck, fattened on alien flesh.
Friday, June 2. 2006
 The "dark side of croquet." Haha. Watch the Brits ban croquet, because it's "mean." Honestly, what kind of pussy-men would complain about "vicious" croquet? Maybe the pussy-men at the BBC. These aren't your grandfather's Brits. They need to try lacrosse sometime.
Sager at RCP calls it Cultural Federalism, but I call it plain Federalism - and I like it. Why "cultural" issues ought to be left to the states. We are a big country - why not? That giant sucking sound is the sound of local power getting sucked into DC, and it never quits. Moms want to drive SUVs. Most popular was the Escalade. That's a wierd choice, a bit of a pimpmobile, but who understands Moms? Nobody, except maybe other Moms. Why is American medical care so expensive? Kling has the answer, and anybody who has ever had $10,000 worth of tests for a simple complaint knows that he is right: American physicians are test-addicted, partly out of fear of lawsuits and partly because they are spoiled by technology and leave judgement behind. Only in America will a dizzy spell buy you an MRI. Good piece by Kling - worth a whole post. Did I miss something? When was Huck Finn banned from America's public schools? Powerline. May I ask why? Have they banned Moby Dick yet? White guys try to kill a nice little whale in that tale. What are they reading now? Maya Angelou and Mao's Little Red Book, no doubt. The Librarian/academic "community" confuses me...they want unlimited porn and gay sex education in second grade, but they ban Mark Twain and the Bible. What am I missing? If you live in LA, you are paying for this. Wizbang. Suckers!
Thursday, June 1. 2006
Michelle supports Dunkin Donuts. So do we. I could use one right about now. New Orleans is a sinking ship. Sensible Mom. Get out of there, people. It is Gatorville. Truthful warning labels for products: Samizdata. This product contains sub-atomic particles moving at the speed of light... Importing Mexico's Welfare and Mexico's underclass. Why would we want to do this? They are the 9th largest economy in the world...Daily Pundit. Mexico is a mouse, tweaking a lion's tail. The Homeland Security scam. It is a total scam. Omaha? Please - Osama never heard of Omaha, nor have most Americans heard much about it other than Mutual of Omaha. Am. Princess. What a joke, but it's our money that is being flushed down the toilet. The UN wants money to rescue Hamas. Are they serious? China will probably go along with it. Buy them off? Captain Ed Long Island Jews ally with illegals, claim "they are just like us." Ummm. View from the Right. Hillary wants me to drive 55?!?!?! Jimmy Carter all over again? Driscoll. I will never drive 55. Never watched Oprah? Neither have I. But you can read about her secret of success here, at TNR Experienced salesman needs job.
Wednesday, May 31. 2006
Whew. I have been thoroughly farked. I have never had one of my pieces "farked" before (see my post prior to this one), but I have also never been subjected to so much rage in my life, as in the abundant comments. "Wingnut"? Me? They would never call me that, if they were lucky enough to meet me. 172 comments! It wasn't even a piece about global warming - just a piece about how the human conscience works. What's the big fuss? Is Al Gore a sacred cow?... or a Sacred Bull? And then does his BS not stink? This is not war, dear gentle readers. What especially bothered me is that essentially all of the over-heated comments missed the entire point of the post. Perhaps I should have used the example of "Bush lied so we can get all of this nice cheap oil?" But I have no comparable confession from Bush, nor do I see all of the cheap oil. Yes, that photo is me, at Cape Cod last summer. Surfer's Beach (White Crest Beach), where the strong and manly hands of the waves will firmly, steadily and relentlessly disrobe a lady of both her upper and her lower bathing garments, if she is not careful, and unveil the glory of her secret delights. By the way, if I misread Gore's intent, I will say so. I am not convinced, but I am a Mass General doctor with a Harvard MD. Not a lawyer, but not stupid either: I do not parse - I just read, like a normal person. I can't help it if I am attractive - God made me this way, to be a good breeder, and I like it. Image: Copyright Harvard Medical School Faculty Facebook
A rough day for the ol' blog. We had to shorten things up  a
bit to accommodate the avalanche of very welcome but often
argumentative visitors. We never dreamed there would be so much interest in Al Gore...and Al Gore wasn't even the main subject of Dr. Bliss' piece today. Please argue, visitors and readers - but argue rationally or, if irrationally, then at least with humor. I have to hand it to Fark - they have some big numbers of avid and loyal readers. Wow. Many thanks to Chris for keeping us up and running with duct tape, baling wire, and chewing gum. Australian High Schools complain that the press is looking at their curriculum plans. What are they - secret revoutionary cells? Almost sounds that way. Protein. Maybe they should remember who pays them. Put down the bong, Canada. Update on the Moslem cartoons in Canada and Denmark. Atlas Why did Bush beat Kerry? Funny photos - very revealing. YARGB Bad news on how immigration amnesty has been working under current law - a hotbed of corruption, sneakiness, government contract deals, cheating, lying for pay, scummy politics, and general sliminess. VDARE. This needs to be sent around. Iraq is safer than Washington, DC. More stats at Gateway. Something we missed on Memorial Day: The 553rd anniversary of the fall of Constantinople. It wasn't pretty. Gates of Vienna. Radical Chic. You thought it was something from the dopey 60s. Nope - some still think it's cool. Dalrymple on The Guardian's antiquated fascination with totalitarian Marxist thugs and murderers - and their clothing. What is the hatred of WalMart all about? Is it envy of success, or is it snobbery of the elites, or what? Zinsmeister at AEO takes a look at the subject of the most successful retail organization in the world.
Here's a 1997 Peugeot you might want to bid on, on Ebay. Unemployed? Like outdoor work? Like sunshine? Want a macho career where you can drive a pick-up, drink beer all day, and wear whatever you want? Gator-catcher. Chief No Nag explains how illegals are driving Americans out of the middle class. Maxed Out Mama The Man Without a Country. We all used to have to read this - not a bad thing. Neo-neo reflects on patriotism - another good thing, even if un-cool at Manhattan cocktail parties. How does Saint Al do this, and how can I? Purchasing indulgences, at Moonbattery. Beyond Marx: Class Autobiographies. Here's one at S&M. Great quote: "Everyone is scarred by their upbringing. The only question is: how?" It's about time: a blog called Chesterton and Friends.
Tuesday, May 30. 2006
Best piece I have seen on the politics of immigration. McIntyre at RCP California Cabernets beat French wines, 30 years later. Starbucks plans for the future: More than latte. Check out that stock chart, too A new book from Larry McMurtry: CSM says his best since 1988 Quoted from a piece at Atlas: The way I see it is this. European societies face a problem in that the Muslim populations in their midst are growing at a faster rate than the native population. Over time, the proportion of those societies made up of Muslims is going to increase. It's often said that one consequence of this is that Europeans adopt a spineless attitude towards Islamic terrorism, attempting to appease it rather than address it, for fear of provoking civil unrest in their own countries. This invertebrate attitude on the part of Europeans is cited as something that will lead to the inevitable downfall of their civilisation and, maybe within our lifetimes, their eventual partial or total submission to an Islamic way of life with all the horrors that brings. It's seen as a suicidal strategy, born of weakness.
How the federal government plays a huge, but hidden, role in land use. NYT Science Times
Sunday, May 28. 2006
Al Gore admits lying in his warming movie. He calls it "over-representation of facts" - but it's "for a good cause". I guess there is "no controlling legal authority" for Leftist propaganda. Will write more about this moral weakness of his later, because I think it is dangerous. Bertie Wooster and the "insurgents" have something in common. They hate shorts. Iraq insurgents murder tennis players - LGF. At the same time, Anchoress points out the hilariously redemptive humor of P.G . Wodehouse, without whom life would be much less delightful than it is. The military murders in Iraq. A damn shame, if true. We train very professional soldiers, but we must have some sympathy for those few who lose it, in combat. Not to forgive it - but some understanding. Tragic, terribly wrong, but it does not discredit our effort to build freedom. The anti-American, anti-freedom forces will exploit any evil to the max in the effort to create false moral equivalencies. In war, bad shit happens. The best trained soldiers are only human and, who knows, it could have been me. I pray that these guys have not shamed our country by descending to the moral level of the enemy. John Kerry just won't go away. The reason the Swiftvets had an impact was because it was clear that the guy just smelled like a phony, pompous person, regardless of his military service. Our pal Kesler.
Friday, May 26. 2006
Booze is healthful for men, but not for women. Call it "medicine." We do. Review of the R. Crumb Handbook in NY Review of Books. Hey, Mr. Natural - we miss ya, dude. Galloway claims it's OK to kill Tony Blair. Or at least understandable. No wonder that this jerk likes Fidelito and Chavez: he is a latent fascist murdering thug himself. Who elects this guy? And also - Blair himself is Left, just not totally loony Left. But close enough for government work. Why the "hockey stick" is a new low in climate science. Bow-fishing. The Indians did it, but I did not know people were doing this for sport. I do not like the idea of "snap back". And I wonder how the refraction of the water's surface effects one's view of the target. Age Warfare? In Britain, as in the US, it's the older folks who have the wealth. So what? Wealth is wasted on the young.
The following report is from this week's Stratfor Geopolitical Report at Strategic Forecasting, Inc.Break Point, by George Friedman
A government has been formed in Iraq. It is a defective government, in the sense that it does not yet have a defense or interior minister. It is an ineffective government, insofar as the ability to govern directly is at this point limited institutionally, politically and functionally. Ultimately, what exists now is less a government than a political arrangement between major elements of Iraq's three main ethnic groups. And that is what makes this agreement of potentially decisive importance: If it holds, it represents the political foundation of a regime.
If it holds.
If it holds, the rest is almost easy. If it doesn't hold, the rest is impossible. Therefore, the fate of this political arrangement will define the future of Iraq and, with that, the future of the region -- and in some ways, the future of the American position in the region. It is not hyperbole to say that everything depends on this deal.
The deal that has been shaped is about two things: power and money. First, it addresses the composition of power in Iraq -- defining the Shia as the dominant group, based on demographics, the Kurds next and the Sunnis as the smallest group. At the same time, it provides institutional and political guarantees to the Sunnis that their interests will not simply be ignored and that they will not be crushed by the Shia and Kurds. In terms of money, we are talking about oil. Iraq's oil fields are in the south, unquestionably in Shiite country, and in the north, in the borderland between Kurd and Sunni territory. One of the points of this arrangement is to assure that oil revenues will not be controlled on a simply regional basis, but will be at least partially controlled by the central government. Therefore, at least some of that money will go to the Sunnis, regardless of what arrangements are made on the ground with the Kurds.
Continue reading "An objective, non-political view of Iraq"
 In our past pieces on weather and climate, we have predicted that any bad weather from 2005 until the election will be attributed to Bush. I even heard our Lieut. Gov. of Massachusetts last week attribute a week of heavy rain to global warming. A typical political ignoramus: did global warming give us this past gloriously cool and sunny May week in the Commonwealth, too? If so, give me more of it.
You might almost imagine that bad weather began with Bush. Somebody tell Noah. From the two reviews (links below) I have seen, Al Gore's movie sounds like a propaganda exercise, filled with distorted, incorrect, and cherry-picked data points. And why ignore the Medieval Warm Spell? But why did he approach the subject in a non-objective way? And to what end? Altruistic? Political? Grandstanding? Playing Chicken Little? Or hoping for a TV weatherman job ("A band of thunderstorms with heavy hail are working their way across Kansas this morning, due to Bush.")? You tell me. My opinion on climate? Climate changes happen. It is never static for long, regardless of the cause. And even if mankind did cause the current tiny upswing, nothing will be done about it. So enough hysteria, please! And Al Gore is a scold and a crank, like an old lady. What is the cure for the Common Scold? One critique here, by Dr. Robert Balling, a Prof of Climatology, at TCS And a letter to Al Gore from Dr. Roy Spencer, also at TCS
Thursday, May 25. 2006
Is your house a "tear-down'? Around here, they are called "scrapers" if each bedroom lacks its own bathroom and walk-in closet, or if the parlor is larger than the family room. Prosperity sure does spoil folks in the US, but don't tell me they don't work hard for it, or take risks for it. Dean reassures Dems: "We will find a way to screw this up." Maggie needs to lose 1000 lbs., but she won't exercise. We need to put her to work on the Farm, pulling pick-ups out of the mud, or pulling a plow, or pulling up stumps, or stomping deer poachers into fertilizer. Love and Suicide. A new Moro film, made in Cuba. With a great photo of Cuba today. Wounded soldiers (and healthy ones) find distraction and productivity via their laptops. The limits of reason. John Stuart Mill got the importance of reason, but not of wisdom. Sir Edmund Hillary advises - Don't leave the dying behind - help them. Hey, Sir Edmund - when you need to get to the top of the heap, who cares? Let 'em die. "Honor" is old-fashioned and obsolete. Remember when Hillary Clinton told an audience in Australia that she was named after Sir Edmund - but it turned out she was born before he climbed Everest? The Everest climb has become a tragic joke, but an expensive one, in money and lives. If you want to do something with your life, do something worthwhile...not that there is anything wrong with climbing mountains.
From Michael Yon: There are several new items posted on the website today, including a new dispatch entitled "Hiatus Corpus." Also, a veteran who served in the Gulf War and at Mogadishu submitted two poems for the Frontline Forum. There is news about our Canadian allies in the Vox Sententia box, and today we launch a new segment called "First Person Singular" where people who are in the news, and sometimes making the news, answer important questions about what they do and what they believe in. Bill Roggio is our first "First Person Singular. " Please visit http://app.bronto.com/x/trackclick.php?id=17062880_f182de20_129115&url=http://www.michaelyon-online.com/xyqyxBMIDSxyeyx17062880-f182de20-129115 and look for the New This Week box at the top center of the home page, all the above posts can be accessed from that spot.
On amnesty - stolen (but do laws matter anymore?) from Polipundit: As I’ve noted before, illegal immigrants haven’t just broken immigration laws. Most of them are guilty of fraud, perjury, forgery, and other crimes. Here are some of the penalties for those crimes: Under current law, simply entering the country illegally can result in a six-month prison stay and a $250,000 fine. Aiding in that crime carries a similar fine and a five-year prison sentence. Once ordered deported, an illegal racks up $500 per day of continued “illegal presence.” In addition, there are the perjury and false statements associated with fraudulently filling out federal tax forms. Each instance carries up to a five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine. Then there is the wide array of crimes relating to forging false documents needed to obtain work. Punishments for those crimes range from civil fines to 25 years in prison. Also, there are crimes relating to the misuse of Social Security numbers needed to obtain work. Those crimes can result in five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. So, let’s review. Under the Senate’s amnesty plan: US citizen committing forgery and tax fraud = 25 years in jail Illegal alien committing forgery and tax fraud = US citizenship, no jail time, keep the benefits (Social Security) of the forgery and fraud.
Wednesday, May 24. 2006
From WTFV: MEXICO CITY - A Varig airlines cargo plane from Brazil sits parked at the Mexico City airport with its nose up in the air after the cargo was unevenly distributed. Brazil's troubled flagship airline, Varig, is reeling under an estimated US$3.3 billion (euro2.7 billion) in debt and is currently in the restructuring phase of bankruptcy proceedings and, last April 12, some 300 Varig employees boarded a chartered jet to Brasilia, the nation's capital, to call on the federal government to bail out the company, which employs 11,000 people. Rest of story: (04/17/06 AP photo) 
Tuesday, May 23. 2006
On-ground airline accident, with mechanics horsing around in the cockpit - while voice recorder is turned on. Hilarity ensues. Very quick download, with photos: ContinentalAirlinesAccident11.pps
Ford Foundation supports anti-Israel causes and organizations. I still do not quite get why the Left does things like this. More on Bill Cosby's "Call-outs." This man is speaking truth to power. USA Today. The professor's critique at the end is revealing of a certain kind of condescending and un-American mind-set. Dr. Thomas McGlashan's career of treating schizophrenia. He's done it all. Science Times Is Bush losing Hispanic support? Probably, but for no good reason. Calif. Yank Birth of a nation: Montenegro. Get out your atlases and coloring pencils.
Deluge. A new book - the story of Katrina. Opie recommends it highly. Why is it always the US? Why doesn't some other country invent renewable energy? RTLC Cats cause eczema. Dogs prevent it. Idaho Gem, a cloned racehorse, will compete against the natural variety. George McGovern (!?!) tells unions that "more" is not always the best answer. Will 2006 be a bad year for Repubs? Don't believe the hype. The Dems are leaving the center far behind. Ouch. Many catheters are unnecessary. Make sure they give you a good reason, besides the convenience of the nurses. Catheters are not nice, especially for fellows. Is "intrusive" the right word? Madeleine Albright, one of the favorite targets of normal people, is "worried" about Bush's faith. Better worry about Iran, Madeleine. Jeez. What a bozo. Harry Reid drank the Kool-Aid. Will he die? We shall see. I hope not - we need kooks like this around, as constant reminders. Paranoids on Parade. Just check this out. They call themselves "truthers." I call them nuts. What a world. These people vote? It was only a couple of years ago that we were barraged by "Hunger in America." That was one scam: the latest is "Obesity in America." Life is just one crisis after another, for "activists." "Activists,", aka socialist quasi-revolutionaries, are like ambulance-chasing lawyers: any issue will do to find an excuse for more government intrusion into our lives. But obesity is a funny choice. The explanation, apparently, is that the American "poor" eat in restaurants too often. RWN can't find many fat people, but maybe they are all at Disney World. Or sitting in restaurants. Multiply by 7? There is a better way to calculate your dog's age. Government's conspiracy to use our money to keep their jobs and to keep us poor and stupid. Cut their pay and send them home. Further comments on that Examiner piece by our hard-workin' pal Kesler. Performativity at Harvard. What? How your money is wasted paying for your kids' college stupidification. The New York Sun.
Monday, May 22. 2006
Slavery in Islam. Apparently it can be quite acceptable in parts of the Moslem world. Including selling little boys as sex slaves, to support Jihad. Can we say that Islam has a "different" view of humanity? Isn't tolerance fun? Rhymes with Right And, speaking of Allah, California schools say Yes to Allah, No to God. Michelle. California is so enlightened. Christians are swine. Jews are more highly ranked: they are apes. So say the Saudi textbooks. Patterico.
A note to all new visitors to Maggie's Farm from all over: Welcome to the Farm! Read us - we are eclectic and informative, and like to surprise our readers. Friendly, too. Bookmark us and show us some love.  This is the response from a retired Delta pilot in response to questions about whether he was planning to see United 93:
I haven't seen the movie, yet, but I intend to when I get the chance. Retirement has made me busier than ever, and I haven't had the chance to see many movies lately. As a Delta B-767 captain myself at the time of the attacks on 9/11 I was in crew rest in Orlando that morning. I had just turned on the TV in my hotel room only to see the WTC tower on fire, then saw the second airplane hit the other tower. My immediate reaction was "Terrorists...we're at war", followed by the realization that we airline crewmembers had all dodged a bullet; it could have been any one of us flying those planes. As soon as the news stations flashed the first pictures of the terrorists I knew just how close and personal the bullet I dodged was. There, on the screen for all to see, was a man who had sat in my jumpseat the previous July. His name was Mohammad Atta, the leader of the terrorist hijackers. Atta had boarded my flight from Baltimore to Atlanta on July 26, 2001 wearing an American Airlines first officer uniform. He had the corresponding AA company ID identifying him as a pilot, not to mention the required FAA pilot license and medical certificate that he was required to show me as proof of his aircrew status for access to my jumpseat. An airline pilot riding a cockpit jumpseat is a long established protocol among the airlines of the world, a courtesy extended by the management and captains of one airline to pilots and flight attendants of other airlines in recognition of their aircrew status. My admission of Mohammad Atta to my cockpit jumpseat that day was merely a routine exercise of this protocol. Something seemed a bit different about this jumpseat rider, though, because in my usual course of conversation with him as we reached cruise altitude he avoided all my questions about his personal life and focused very intently upon the cockpit instruments and our operation of the aircraft. I asked him what he flew at American and he said, "These", but he asked incessant questions about how we did this or why we did that. I said, "This is a 767. They all operate the same way." But he said, "No, we operate them differently at American." That seemed very strange, because I knew better. I asked him about his background, and he admitted he was from Saudi Arabia. I asked him when he came over to this country and he said "A couple of years ago.", to which I asked, "Are you a US citizen?" He said no. I also found that very strange because I know that in order to have an Airline Transport Pilot rating, the rating required to be an airline captain, one has to be a US citizen, and knowing the US airlines and their hiring processes as I do, I found it hard to believe that American Airlines would hire a non-US citizen who couldn't upgrade to captain when the time came. He said, "The rules have changed.", which I also knew to be untrue. Besides, he was just, shall I say, "Creepy"? My copilot and I were both glad to get rid of this guy when we got to Atlanta. There was nothing to indicate, though, that he was anything other than who or what he said he was, because he had the documentation to prove who he was. In retrospect, we now know his uniform was stolen and his documents were forged. Information later came to light as to how this was done. It seems that Mohammad Atta and his cronies had possibly stolen pilot uniforms and credentials from hotel rooms during the previous year. We had many security alerts at the airline to watch out for our personal items in hotel rooms because these were mysteriously disappearing, but nobody knew why. Atta and his men used these to make dry runs prior to their actual hijackings on 9/11. How do I know? I called the FBI as soon as I saw his face on the TV that day, and the agent on the other end of the line took my information and told me I'd hear back from them when all the dust settled. A few weeks later I got a letter from the Bureau saying that my call was one of at least half a dozen calls that day from other pilots who had had the same experience. Flights were being selected at random to make test runs for accessing the cockpit. It seems we had all dodged bullets. Over the years my attitude towards the War Against Terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been known to be on the red neck, warmongering, rah-rah-shoot-em-up side of things. I've been known to lose my patience with those who say the war in Iraq or anywhere else in the Muslim world is wrong, or who say we shouldn't become involved in that area of the world for political correctness reasons. Maybe it's because I dodged the bullet so closely back in 2001 that I feel this way. I have very little patience for political rhetoric or debate against this war because for a couple of hours back in July 2001, when I was engaged in conversation with a major perpetrator in this war, I came so close to being one of its victims that I can think in no other terms. I don't mind admitting that one of the reasons I retired early from Delta last May, other than to protect my disappearing company retirement, was because it became harder and harder for me to go to work every day knowing that the war wasn't being taken seriously by the general public. The worst offenders were the Liberal detractors to the present administration, and right or wrong, this administration is at least taking the bull by the horns and fighting our enemies, which is something concrete that I can appreciate. Nobody was taking this war seriously, and it seems everyone found fault with the US government rather than with those who attacked us. I found that incomprehensible. I also found myself being scrutinized by TSA screeners more and more every day when I went to work, and suffered the humiliating indignity of being identified about half the time for body searches in front of the general flying public who looked at the entire process as being ludicrous. "They don't even trust their own pilots!" accompanied by an unbelieving snicker was the usual response. Here I was, a retired USAF officer who had been entrusted to fly nuclear weapons around the world, who had been granted a Top Secret clearance and had been on missions over the course of 21 years in the military that I still can't talk about without fear of prosecution by the DoD, who was being scanned by a flunkie TSA screener looking for any sign of a pen knife or nail file on my person. It wasn't until six months after my retirement when my wife and I flew to Key West, FL last November that I was finally able to rid myself of the visage of Mohammad Atta sitting behind me on my jumpseat, watching my every action in the cockpit and willing to slit my throat at the slightest provocation. I missed being a headline by a mere 47 days, and could very well have been among the aircrew casualties on 9/11 had one of my flights on my monthly schedule been a transcontinental flight from Boston or New York to the west coast on the 11th of September. Very few people know that, while only four airliners crashed that day, four more were targeted, and two of them were Delta flights. The only reason these four weren't involved is because they either had minor maintenance problems which delayed them at the gate or they were scheduled to depart after the FAA decided to ground all flights. Theirs are the pilots and flight attendants who REALLY dodged the bullet that day, and my faith in a higher power is restored as a result. I will see United 93 when I get the chance, and I will probably enjoy the movie for its realness and historical significance, but forgive me if I do not embrace the Muslim world for the rest of my life. The Islamic world is no friend of the West, and although we may be able to get along with their governments in the future, the stated goal of Islam is world conquest through Jihad and it is the extremist Jihadists, backed and funded by "friendly" Moslem governments, whom we have to fear the most. We must have a presence in the Middle East, and we must have friends in the Middle East, even if we have to fight wars to get them. Only someone who has dodged a bullet can fully appreciate that fact. Best to all, Pat Gilmore Editor's Note: For some reason which is beyond me, some people do not want to believe this. Perhaps they do not want to believe that Jihadist terrorism actually exists, because it someone doesn't believe it yet, they never will. Capt. Gilmore himself posted this comment, in our comments below, but I will put it here for all to see:
I assure you this letter is true. As to the fact that I wrote that a holder of an Airline Transport Pilot rating (ATP) must be a US citizen, I admit that I was mistaken here. I had always assumed so, because that's what I had heard, so I looked up the requrements for an ATP just now. There is nothing that says that US citizenship is required. Okay, I'll bite the bullet on that one. I recieved my ATP back in 1975 and now that I think of it I do not remember having to prove my citizenship. However, the rest of the story is true.
As for my airline career, I worked for Western Airlines (who merged with Delta in 1987), Jet America Airlines (who was bought by Alaska Airlines in 1988), and Delta Airlines, as well as a few "fly by night" cargo airlines during my furlough period from Western from 1981-1985. I also flew in Vietnam as a transport pilot and retired from the USAF Reserve in 1991 after the Gulf War. I have 21,500+ flight hours in T-41, T-37, T-38, C-141/L-300, CE-500, CV-440, MD-80/82, B-727, B-737, B-757, and B-767 aircraft, all logged between 1970 and 2005 when I retired from Delta.
Trust me, folks, this was real. I must admit I am quite surprised that my letter made it this far on the internet. The letter was nothing more than am innocent reply to a group of friends, one of whom sent me a similar letter from another Delta pilot who had been flying the morning of 9/11 and who had experienced the flying that day for himself. His letter had detailed his thoughts as he viewed the movie "United 93", and he also told in detail how he had been diverted to Knoxville when the FAA shut down the airspace. My friend had asked me if I had known of any other similar experiences, so I wrote him what I had encountered myself a few months before. This was my letter to him.
Another retired Delta captain contacted me yesterday after reading this blog and related an experience his wife had on a flight from Portland, OR to Atlanta in August 2001, just a week or so after my experience with Atta. She was riding on a company pass and seated in First Class. A person of "Middle Eastern" descent had sought permission to sit on the cockpit jump seat, but was denied access by the captain because he did not have an FAA Medical certificate. She said he ranted and raved because he couldn't ride the cockpit jump seat, even though there were three empty seats in First Class, which the captain offered him. What pilot in his right mind would refuse a First Class seat over a cramped cockpit jump seat? He stormed off the aircraft and they left him at the gate. You see? Mine wasn't the only experience leading up to 9/11.
Delta Airlines Corporate Security even contacted me a few days ago to ask if I had, indeed, written this letter. I wrote them back that I had. They were worried that someone was using my name without my knowledge. I assured them I was the author.
Keep the faith, and don't let the bastards get you down.
Pat Gilmore 6/5/06 Editor's Note: Late this afternoon, we will post a new thought about this subject - go to top of the blog - click header - and see if it's there yet.
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