America Did Not Stay the Course

Terrorism never works. The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize, to make your enemies cower and hide under the bed. It never works. September 11th is the prime example of the failure of Al-Quaeda and other terrorist groups. Americans aren't afraid. They don't hide in their homes, worrying that they will be hit next. They don't capitulate to terrorist demands. Instead, they get pissed, unite, and retailate. And when we retaliate, we really hit hard.

Look at our military. You've got B-52 Bombers that can bomb the crap out of anything. A-10's that can tear everything apart and can get hit by anything and never go down. B-2 Spirits and F-22 Raptors that can strike from nowhere. Our soldiers are, for the most part, confident, competent and professional. Any terrorist staring down the barrel of an American M-16 is quaking in his turban.

Rather than sitting back and hiding, what did we do? We attacked. We pointed the mighty spear of Americas military at the heart of Al-Quaeda in Afghanistan.

Then we changed our minds. Thanks to our hypocrite president, we suddenly decided to ignore Osama Bin Laden (who Bush has been quoted saying "I'm not worried about him") and attack a nation that was not a threat to American security.

Our president has said, about ten thousand times in the last five years, that the United States will "stay the course until the job is done." We did not stay the course. We did not do what we set out to do in October 2001, in retaliation to the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor in 1941. In October 2001, we headed to Afghanistan, where the Taliban was harboring the terrorist group Al-Quaeda, which was responisible for the attacks on 9-11. Then we ousted the Taliban and set our sights on Al-Quaeda. And then we shifted focus to Iraq, leaving Afghanistan largely ignored in the eyes of the public. We're still looking, but we aren't putting any effort into it. Our army is bogged down in Vietnam Iraq and we cannot concentrate enough force to flush out our main enemy, Al-Quaeda headmaster Bin Laden, and kill or capture him. Al-Quaeda is still a major threat to the American public and where are we? In Iraq fighting insurgents, who if we hadn't invaded, would have left us alone. Meanwhile, we half-heartedly fight Al-Quaeda. We lost the course when we invade Iraq.

George Bush and his cowboy attitude has gotten us nowhere. Al Quaeda still exists. Bin Laden is still at large and more Americans have been killed. The terror threat has raised, we can no longer bring liquid on an airplane. We aren't safe from terrorists. On the contrary, the situation even worse. By attacking a foreign nation that had nothing to do with the terrorist attack, we've angered the Middle Easterns even further, generating more extremists and more attacks. I don't feel safer than I did before the attack, I feel more vulnerable. Because of this, George Bush is a failure. An incompetent cowboy who has no idea what he is doing or who he is really hurting.

To stay the course, the United States should have stayed in Afghanistan until Al-Quaeda was crushed and its leaders captured or killed. Then we go home. We keep searching for other terrorist threats and deal with them accordingly as we find them. But we also need to improve relations in the Middle East to further avoid terrorism. The United States and the Middle East both need to learn to compromise and, if not like each other, learn to live with each other.

We did not stay the course in Afghanistan. Today is September 11, 2006 and Osama Bin Laden and his network is still a major threat to the American people. In five years after the attacks, George Bush has accomplished absolutely nothing.

J Kuhl Signing Off

Stingrays are Better Than Steve Irwin

On my way to Algebra this morning, I came up with three superlative statements. First was that pirates are better than ninja's. Why? Because pirates kick ass and get booty when they arrive at port. Ninjas don't. Then pilots are better than engineers. Although engineers build the airplanes, pilots get to be one with the airplanes the engineers build. And last was that stingrays are better than Steve Irwin. Why? Because one just owned the Crocidile Hunter last night in Australia.

And who could have seen this comming? Steve Irwin who enjoys wrestling wild and dangerous animals such as crocs or lions, gets killed by a wild and dangerous animal he was probably wrestling with. You get whats comming to you.

Crikey!

But if it was Chuck Norris fighting that stingray, Chuck would have obviously won, roundhouse kicking all the stingrays, and everything else, out of the ocean.

Stingrays are pirates, Steve Irwin is was a ninja. Chuck Norris is god.

"Chuck Norris once fought God. And won"

J Kuhl Signing Off

Wings

The steady rumble of the reciprocating engine, muffled by green headsets, fills the tiny cockpit. The pre-takeoff check is complete. One hand on the yoke, another on the throttle, I gently aim the airplane down the run way. I push in the throttle and watch the airspeed indicator needle. I tap softly on the right rudder to re-align with the center. Then I pull back on the yoke and break the chains of gravity.

There is nothing like it, no comparison. Flying is a unique experience and I can't match it up to anything. Its a drug. Once you take it, you have to come back again. And there is nothing that can replace it. You and the airplane become one entity and take on the empty skies. Its an exhileration like no other.

And its a challenge. At any given second, the pilot has about ten things to do. Check the checklist, watch the airspeed indicator, the vertical speed indicator, the altimiter, the tachometer, the heading indicator, the GPS, the horizon, the attitude indicator, the turn coordinator and a few other instruments, not to mention keeping his hands on the yoke and throttle and feet on the rudders. Any event, such as straight and level flight, requires constant attention and concentration. In fact, I think there is even a checklist for the checklist! And thats just in the cockpit. As a student, a pilot has plenty of studying to do. I personally have four books to read, "Cessna Information Manual" "Private Pilot Maneuvers" "Airplane Flying Handbook" and the "Private Pilot Textbook." There are sectional maps to study, checklists to familiarize, more checklists, and a whole lot more to it than just fiddling around with a yoke. Flying is an art.

It takes experience. Pilots are rated in hours. A pilot who has flown less than another pilot is almost always inferior. Airplane flying takes coordination which is a learned art that can only be developed through practise.

This is a skill I will treasure for the rest of my life.

In other news, college life is interesting, much better than high school. Much more freedom of movement. I can do what I want, even skip classes and not worry about being punished (but I'll prolly fail). The hours kind of suck sometimes, but hey, I get to fly three times a week and that makes it worth it.

"eagles may soar but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines"

J Kuhl Signing Off