SNOW in Houston

It was 15 years ago - 1989 - the last time we had snow. It caught us by surprise on Christmas eve. As L and I drove to church suddenly the flakes were falling and falling. All during church it kept falling - leaving a white blanket on our cars. Amazing. SNOW!  It snowed in Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of us, for the first time in 86 years - and they got a foot of it! 

Of course people here don't know how to drive on it. Coming back on 59 we got to the Brazos River bridge and someone had spun out on the ice and a line of cars was backed up, so we took the turn-around and detoured home another way.

Of course it all melted on Christmas Day, but it was a nice change, and a treat. But with the war still going on in Iraq - an explosion from a suicide bomber in a mess tent killed over 20 a few days ago - I just couldn't get into the holiday spirit. I hope 2005 will be a better year.

Aftermath

Well, the campaign is OVER and I'm finally poking my head out again. The incumbent got fewer votes than ever before, but I still lost and so did all the other challengers. But it was a great learning experience and it was my first time on a general election ballot.

Now to move FORWARD.  After nearly 30 years of practicing law I am ready to try something different. There are too many lawyers and the work is not really that exciting. I liked international negotiations a lot more than having to do a divorce.

But our system seems to discard those with the most experience - the few international jobs now go to young kids who know very little but get paid the big bucks. Forget getting a corporation to hire someone over 50 regardless of talent. Same for the law firms. Age discrimination is not legal but is the norm. And the incompetent seem to rise quickly to the top (e.g. Rumsfeld - no war plan, no armor for the troops, etc.).  Sometimes I think we've changed from being a nation of the best and brightest to a nation run by the best connected who know how to kiss up (it's not WHAT you know but WHO you know that counts).  In the long term, it will be our undoing.

So, for me, it's either back to doing the mundane or I need to create something new and interesting, but what that is remains to be seen. Last week I was so bored I even applied for a job in Iraq!  No, it's not a death wish, but a desire to do something more interesting than hunt down land titles or hear an ex complain about their spouse they want to divorce. 

Even running for office was better than that. We shall see what develops.

6 Days to Go - Getting ugly

Six days to go before the election, and it's getting ugly. I'm not talking about the national campaign, but this Congress race. 

The 20-year incumbent, who hasn't had a sign or campaign office in a decade, suddenly has tons of both. And he's even throwing out negative attack ads, a sure sign of desperation.

My only question is: Where do I sign up to get attacked? Heck, DeLay's giving name recognition to the first-time Democrat challenger by attacking him.  I want some equal time! LOL.

Heck, I'm the one pulling away the incumbents GOP voters, the moderate ones who are tired of him. The Democrat's base is only 35% of the district. There are at least 40% moderate Republicans that refused to vote for DeLay in the March primary in his home county - a greater number. Ummmm.

So, if I get attacked in the next few days, I'll know that I've "arrived."

Actually, like many voters, I'm ready for this election to be OVER. It's gone on too long and is too negative. I have tried to focus on issues instead of mudslinging, but mudslinging is winning out...where's my mud ball?

Campaign End stage

The campaign is, thankfully, near an end. The outsome is still uncertain. I just saw a poll that said the incumbent (DeLay) is at 47% --pretty low for a 20-year incumbent. It seems like every day there is another story in the papers about his ethics or other problems.

We actually got to debate at a candidate forum hosted by the Clear Lake High School debate team - DeLay waited until 30 minutes before it started to call and say he was coming. When I got the word I immediately called the TV stations, who started walking in during the debate--too late for him to duck and run.

Afterward, to my amazement, a lot of people came up and said how I had impressed them. About half of them said they were switching their vote to me as a result. Too bad it wasn't televised live. My poll numbers would skyrocket.

So the underdog continues to do it grass roots. Ended up on another TV station tonight.

I am TIRED. Ready to wrap this up. It's an excitiing finish. No clue as to how it will come out yet. Anything could happen.

 

DeLay's Aides Indicted While I fix my car

I had a radio talk show interview today, Meria Heller from Arizona, then was getting my car transmission fluid changed --which was taking forever since it was a trade with a client who couldn't afford to pay -- when news broke of several of my opponent's (Tom DeLay) aides getting indicted.  I didn't find out about it until news time.

Suddenly, things are changing. Anything could happen, with 40 days to go to election day. God works in mysterious ways!

Reving Up

Thank God August is dead. I felt as if  I'd been fried under a microwave all month. September SOUNDS cooler, even when it's still hot.

The political season has begun. My underdog campaign against the dragon DeLay somehow survived the heat and the economy that has been on life support. The trickle down economics hasn't really been trickling - I think the heat evaporated it on the way down.

Florida must have really ticked off the big guy in the sky - two hurricanes in one season! First Charley, then Francis. And it may get knocked down again by Ivan. That what happens when you hang chads and let Ralph Nader back on the ballot!

Ummm. Heat may have fried some of my brain, or Ralph's - along with everyone else running. DeLay is polling 45%, the lowest ever and is promising if he gets reelected he'll start eating vegetables again. Ok, maybe not vegetables...

Later..Henri the dog is demanding a break. Never deny a dog that needs to go...

Ant Bites

Blogging has been zero due to extreme heat and a full schedule.

I have a long red blotch on my ankles that itchs like mad from fire ant bites - apparently they penetrated through a hole in my sock as I was walking the district.

It's finally a bit cooler for a few days, after hitting 110 heat index for days on end. My nose looks like Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer from keeping my car top open for ventilation (A/C is still out and needs to be converted from an R 12 to one of the new systems that doesn't kill ozone - not sure it's worth it).

A client needed some help so ended up going to L.A. on a case (a big company attacking his little one, the usual) - but in this economy cash is tight so he could pay only part of it. The rest he wanted to pay via a barter with a third party --to get me something I need, a pickup. Well, the pickup looks great but instead of running well it has a dead engine.

It reminds me of the depression stories. "Thanks Doc for your help, but gee, we've got no cash -- but we can give you a chicken and a goat!"

Well, I didn't get a goat but I did get a pickup that doesn't (yet) work. Amazing. I took it. I figured "Half a truck is better than none."  In time I can always get a motor in it and will enjoy driving something that hauls my stuff and has a working A/C!

While I'm trying to survive and take in chickens and pickups for fees, the other two candidates have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars - one has spent a million -- yet both of them have gone DOWN in the polls!  Amazing.....

With less than $10,000 I - the 3rd candidate-have been going UP (I had no where else to go).

I found out that the incumbent polls without using my name (giving him false numbers since it only compares him vs a Democrat) and the Dems poll using the independent me -- and it shows my being on the ballot has dropped the incumbent below 49% without my even making a phone call or a mailing.

Not to bad when you running against someone who has been in power as long as Saddam and has more money than some countries!

Tells me the boy's in a heap of trouble. We could yet see a David topple a Goliath.

We could use one of those stories, especially when you scan the awful headlines - Iraq is still a hellhole, politicians are being overly partisan and the whole world really needs a makeover and fresh faces in leadership...

We'll see what happens. I have to go check, after a long absence, the blog of the Iraqi girl who lives in Baghdad - to get the real facts of what is happening over there.

I don't think our gov't or media really gives us an accurate picture than someone living in it....more later, when the ant bites subside.

Mike

The Whirlwind Begins - 9 11 Report Released

Americans should unplug their air conditioners to get a feel for what our troops and civilians in Iraq are going through, only more so.  Last night our 13-year old house air conditioner gave up the ghost and died.

In Houston, loss of air conditioning is treated like instant death. People grab their phones and ranson their kids to buy a new working compressor if it goes out in July when its hitting triple digit heat index.  A new one was $3,500 - a fortune to most people (including me).  The house felt like a sticky hot box. Imagine going through that all day, day after day, month after month in Iraq as one of our soldiers, or as an Iraqi civilian?  We need to remember that.

Got to run - New A/C is humming, Thank God. 9 11 report just came out. More on that later. It was like a Compressor blowing it in it's revelations.

No Time

I've had no time, or energy, to blog lately. 

Our Houston summer has turned from rain to HOT AS HADES and the A/C remains out of action on my '90 Mercedes (at least it's paid for and still rolling with 261,000 miles so far - I'm tempted to see how far it will go).

The election is heating up and Iraq and the economy are said to be the key deciding factors that will swing the swing voters who will decide this dead heat. The voters I talk to on the street don't reflect the happy numbers coming out of DC - the hiring of burger flippers is up, but not engineers or real jobs.

I caught a bug last Thursday that had me throwing up and it took several days for it to give up, so I'm just now getting rolling again. But it's summer and people's minds are on vacation and I can't blame them. It's good to have some fun when the news has been awful and the times have been hard for most. Some escape helps keep one's sanity unless you have already lost your mind, then the escape helps those who have to put up with you! I know my wife would agree with that.

Interesting. We have Dick Cheney telling a senior Senator "F*** You" and then  goes on a road trip talking about how their team has superior values. Ummmmm.

Campaign 2004: "Our foul language is of higher quality than the other guys!"

 Perhaps that's the new definition of values.

I think this is not what most Americans think equals values.

I don't think Americans like arrogance. Or false values, or hypocrites who do what they condemn, often at the same time.

I don't think they like those who never apologize for bad behavior while claiming they have "values."  We'll see.

The good thing about democracy is that we have a chance to change the players and start fresh. Boy, we need a fresh start ...

Noahs Flood

I found 5 inches of rain in the backyard gauge - it's been raining every day for days. It may be time to start working on an ark. It's supposed to continue another week.

News has been a strange mix: bombings in Iraq - we are 6 days from the June 30 turnover - President being deposed on the exposing of a CIA agent, and other assorted downer news.

People in the 30's depression used to watch Seabiscuit's improbable races (and wins) as a distraction from the bad economic news. Smarty Jones did that for two of three races, but has disappeared from the scene, leaving us without a distraction.

But then "SpaceShipOne" made a successful flight to the edge of space - 3 entrepreneurs opening the door to private flights in space. That was a great day. Then the next day it was back to hearing about someone losing their head in Iraq and more bombings. Bummer again.

I have been talking to a lot of people in my quest for Congress - the Main Street report is grim, some tell me sales are off 75% the last two years! Jobs are going elsewhere. The mood out there is frustration and insecure. People seem to be in the mood to roll some heads of their own.

Well, back to building my Ark.

 

Only in America -

It's official - I'm a Congress candidate officially.

I found a letter in my mailbox Sunday from the Texas Secretary of State, stating that I had qualified for the November ballot as a candidate for US Congress (www.Congress1.com).

The present incumbent has been there for 20 years. When I challenged him in 2002, I was thrown off the ballot and had to sue to get back on. And I won the suit, but not that primary.

So I'm on the ballot again, but for the first time on the general election ballot - the last two times were in the GOP primary. This time I'm an independent and I like it. Now I can talk to everyone, not just members of one party.

Only in America can the little guy challenge the powerful - and polls are showing that the incumbent is down to 36% among likely voters. 54% say that they want "someone else." Earlier this year another challenger for a Constable position actually beat a 16-year incumbent in my district, after he was knocked off the ballot by the GOP. It made people very angry and the kid swamped the incumbent with 60% of the vote.

My case is unique.  Unlike most independents I have a prior track record in this district - so it's going to be close between 3 of us. It looks like the Democrat is the potential spoiler, not the independent (me) since the best a Dem ever gets is 36% in this district in a 2-way race. Just call me the anti-Nader independent.

My entry makes it a possible for possible "Seabiscuit" race against the incumbent (actually 3 -- a Libertarian with the same name as the Democrat (ironically) is also in and usually pulls votes from the GOP side).

So this should be interesting. I'm definitely the darkest horse in the race...

Only in America...

 

Pres. Reagan Joins the Challenger Crew

Yesterday was an odd day. It was the day before D-Day, a time to think of our vets.

Then their was surprising news that President Reagan had died after a ten year losing battle with Alzheimer's. After that, Smarty Jones lost his bid for a triple crown win in the last seconds of the race. The Strawberry Full Moon was in full swing.

The highlight was attending a Literacy fundraiser in the George Library that was very successful, and it went late.

I had to get up early since I was a layreader at church. So I got there feeling still half numb and not running on full batteries.  I found the "Prayers of the People" section, and came to a place where it said "We pray for those who have died, but it was blank.

So, I penciled this in and read it to the congregation without prior approval:

"We pray for those who died, especially former President Reagan, who has slipped the surly bonds of earth, to touch the face of God."

The idea came after reading about his remarks after the Challenger crew was lost. They also fit for a former President, who has now joined the Challenger crew in touching the face of God....

Michael Fjetland

 

Strawberry Full Moon tomorrow - HOT

It's a major "Global Warming" outside - HOT as hades in Houston. We get a wet heat that makes your clothes stick to your body in seconds despite air conditioners blowing full bore. In the Texas panhandle it's a DRY heat, but not here on the coastal plains.

And I haven't even seen the move "The Day After Tomorrow" and its global weather disasters!

Tomorrow is unique. "The moon will be full June 3 at 12:20AM ET. Indian tribes called this the Strawberry Moon because it came during the short strawberry harvest season."

Yep, the strawberries are roasting out there today. So are the issues - it turns out the guy who talked the Bush admin into invading Iraq, Ahmad Chalabi, was arrested by our own forces and charged with giving confidential info to the Iranians.

Moral: Don't invade a country based on one guys "inside info."  That mistake just cost us $300 billion1

Well, back into the H E A T in a few minutes. Half of Houston has fled town, probably for a beach or mountain top somewhere.  Americans should move north in the summer and south in the winter instead of being savaged by the extreme heat and ice.

It's HOT as blazes. Summer has hit Houston like a blow torch - A/C is O U T on the old Merc and only 1 window will roll down. Time to get a hybrid (50 mpg!).

News keeps getting stranger by the day. New abuse photos and videos, and I heard a military intelligence officer try to say that Nick Berg was part of Al Qaida and consented to his own death - I find that too off the wall.

Got to run...

Just back from bean town Boston - for a BU graduation that turned into Noah's floodwaters - people walking around in $1,000 suits drenching wet with no umbrella.

Then our hotel turned out to be 1 block from City Hall where gay marriages were issued for the very first time - which was at our underground rail stop. AMAZING scene it was. Will discuss more later...

Grandmother is 100 and news is she is failing, so must go. News gets weirder by the day from Iraq.

Those Who Kick Dogs and People

As I was walking a neighborhood a few days ago, collecting signatures to get on the ballot, a man came out of his house with his dog.  His dog made a beeline toward me. He was friendly and cute and wanted to play, but the man saw me with my Congress T Shirt and yelled at the dog: "Murphy, get back over here!"

Murphy did as commanded an--d the man then kicked him! Poor Murphy yelped. It was all I could do to keep from kicking the man for kicking the defenseless dogs. Obviously, the guy likes the incumbent I am running against (Tom DeLay) and hated my "Fjetland for Congress"  T-Shirt presence, so he took it out on the dog.

Later, I passed his house and never asked for a signature. I was getting 9 out of 10 anyway and don't need a signature from a bastard who kicks dogs. I wouldn't have asked for his signature even if I had needed it! People who abuse dogs and humans are unAmerican creeps.

Seeing the mistreatment in Iraq of prisoners made me feel the same - a few morons mistreating Iraqis making all of us Americans, and our military, look bad. A military source now says that 90% of the Iraqis had committed no crime -- they were civilians caught in various dragnets. These weren't dangerous Al Qaida types, but ordinary Iraqi moms and dads and brothers caught in a cross cultural hell. 

Then the horrible news of Nick Berg being beheaded by Al Qaida terrorists (they were not Iraqis but Abu Musab al-Zarqawi an Al Qaida leader overtaking Osama as a global killer showed how ugly tit-for-tat violence can get.

Then it turns out before he was killed that Berg had been in JAIL in Iraq --by our own military-- and our people would not let him have access to a lawyer! His own family had to sue in court to get him released! What is going on over there? This is not the America of our forefathers, who fled an abusive Monarchy and set up a bill of rights to avoid just this kind of nasty treatment. This is not a role model of democracy that is supposed to be set up in Iraq.

We have to reclaim the moral high ground.  We start by providing Iraqis with access to courts, bonds, attorneys and fair hearings.  If Americans had a foreign army here putting us naked on the end of a dog leash, etc. and not letting our families know what happened to us for weeks on end, we'd all be outside planting roadside bombs too. 

Duh, connect the dots Washington! If you treat people like dirt the situation gets worse, not better. Some genius in Washington or the Pentagon forgot that if you don't treat people with respect and give them a chance to prove their innocence, they get very hostile. We are supposed to show the Iraqis a role model better than Saddam, not copy it! No wonder things are going to hell over there. So many screwups and those awful pictures have led to more bullets being fired back at our troops and has cost us the moral high ground.   

Those prison abuse pictures had a kick back effect --and helped cost Nick Berg his life. People around the world are feeling very abused and kicked by officials here who talk democracy but don't practice it.  Kicking Iraq won't make it better, it will only make it more dangerous. But like an abused wife, it will be nearly impossible for the current players to win back the trust or the hearts and minds of the people needed for success in Iraq (or elsewhere).

Sadly, our leaders have alienated nearly the entire world, spent $200 billion on a war that had no connection to 9 11 or weapons of mass destruction -- and was rushed into with no plan or enough troops to provide the necessary security.

At the same time we now have a half trillion deficit with only the rich getting the real tax cut. Everyone else gets left table scraps, and they think they've just had a break.

It's time to kick some arrogant people out of Congress who have abused the trust of the American people -- and left them facing more hundreds of billions in costs for future years in Iraq on top of the half trillion dollar hole in our budget and a record trade deficit.

Our economy and kids will be paying in money and blood for their follies and disrespect for generations.

Sleeping Dogs

Henri the 100 lb wonderdog was snoring so loud it woke me up, so here I am.

The weekend was a mix of heavy thunderstorms on Saturday with 2 to 4 inches of rain - and pretty blue skies Sunday. I got out and continued my signature drive.

The latest poll results show the incumbent is at the lowest rating he's been in 20 years - 36% - with 64 per cent wanting someone else! This could be the year for a big change.

Iraq is looking stranger every week. Now allegations of abuse of prisoners by some GI's.  All it takes are a few bad apples to wipe out any remaining good will we had among the Iraqi people. This is unAmerican conduct that will kickback on us.

Gas prices are high and I keep meeting people whose businesses are not doing well or have been laid off or think they are about to be laid off. When they say the economy is doing better I have to wonder when it will trickle down to normal folks.

Perhaps what we really need is NO ONE in charge for the next 4 years - then we could all focus on business instead of political infighting, wars and without a Congress spending money like water flowing over Niagra we might get ahead! LOL.

Back to bed...

Iraq keeps getting more Nuts

Just when you think it could not get worse, Iraq gets worse. Now the army may storm Najaf, the Muslim holy city which is the Muslim Vatican - you can imagine how Christians would react if a foreign army stormed the Pope. That's what is seriously being considered as I write.

Just WHO is making these decisions? It's clumsy mistakes like this --made by someone HIGH up the chain of command -- that will create a worse backlash -- And THAT will result in more of our troops being attacked and killed as a result.

Americans with little global experience will assume that this tactic will work. It's the same mistake the British 'redcoats' made against the American colonists before 1776, who were the ones not playing by the 'rules' -- shooting at the lined up Brits from behind trees and then retreating...American forget, but in 1776 WE were the 'insurgents' wanting independence, and didn't want anyone else telling us what to do.

Now in Iraq we Americans are the Redcoats and the insurgents are the ones not playing by the rules, hiding behind trees and roadside bombs on their own home turf. The insurgents and creeps like Al Sadr are hoping we do make a major mistake like going into Najaf - it will enflame the people against us. Whoever is running this show keeps making mistakes that make things worse instead of better over there.

To his credit Paul Bremer admitted publicly recently that major mistakes had been made -- then he started rehiring ex-Saddam Generals! Egads, Alice is Wonderland is here. What's next?

Bremer was the one (with somone's blessing) who cut of the pay of thousands in the Iraqi army with guns, so they then had nothing better to do from then on but shoot at our troops. Duh! Former Pres. Bush's Secretary of State James Baker warned NOT to do that. How many of our kids died because of that screw up? If we had kept them on the payroll they would not have had an incentive to start the insurgency. But deprive a man with a gun and a family to feed of a paycheck and you have trouble...firing them created an instant insurgency that has grown with every additional mistake.

Stay tuned. It looks like our clever leaders are about to make some more mistakes in Iraq, a country that has never known democracy, and was intentionally designed by the British after WW I to be unstable. We can't win with a military only solution. It will take a real political solution - not an imaginery one.

Last Water Heater Made in America

After the water heater blew up (sprang a nasty leak), we had to replace it (East Sunday we had NO Hot Water -yikes- and it was a downpour of cold rain outside).

We survived until Monday, thanks to a shower at a local country club.

The plumber who came out remarked, after installing our new unit, that it was the last one made in America - we bought the same kind we had before because it lasted nearly14 years!

Now, they will be made in Mexico!  Wonder how long it will last? Why do I think that the price won't really drop much when they start selling those?  The new one installed was $720 - pretty good for a 14 year lifecycle. So if one from Mexico is $500 (I doubt it) how many jobs were lost to save about $20/year over 14 years? 

Unfortunately, we are shipping our manufacturing overseas and the jobs that go with it.  I've been in over 55 countries since the 1970's, helping them set up their own production for local needs.

Now it turns out Mexico, China and India will produce everything we use in our houses, from faucets to toys and water heaters. They have a cost advantage because the economy has gone global.

Maybe future wars won't be over oil - it will be China cutting off our water heaters unless we cave in on Taiwan! Or they withhold all the Christmas toys they make for us. 

I bet after one cold shower many Americans would give up half of California and New York to get hot water again, to heck with anybody! Ummmm. Not sure we want to be this vulnerable guys!

My Water Heater Erupted with Iraq

How can a water heater be like Iraq?  Iraq sprang a serious leak this week - hot steam erupted from what was supposed to be progress in Iraq's nation building, just as I discovered our water heater sprouting steam into the attic, creating a waterfall into the house.

Fortunately, I walked into the house right after it happened and was able to shut a valve and stop the flow before real damage occurred. A few minutes or an hour later we would have had a major disaster.

Unfortunately, the valves may be stuck wide open in Iraq eruption that occurred this week. Someone has been turning the wrong valves and the mistakes have piled up, like a boiler set too high until it finally explodes. Some of the reasons I covered in a new Global American newsletter released a couple days ago (access and archives at www.INTLEGALGROUP.com).

A culmination of a series of blunders have set the stage for hellfire in Iraq - no planning, failure to have enough troops or give them cultural training, dismissing the Iraq army, failing to secure the borders to keep Al Qaida out, using aircraft to bomb a Mosque killing women and children, the list goes on. Our leaderships blunders have caused centuries old enemies, Shiites and Sunnis, to team up for the first time ever. We are poking the hornets nest and they are teaming up. NOT a good sign.

My water heater will be fixed by Monday. The Iraq broken water heater is so critical now from valves being turned, often the wrong way, that it will either blow up completely, or will take years to fix. Our obsession with Saddam the local thug has left Osama bin laden a wide open field to focus on attacking the U.S. We should NEVER have taken our attention off that snake. It's almost guaranteed America will be hit again, and probably soon.

Lack of international understanding by our military and political leaders has put us in a tight box. A U.S. commander said the American mission remained to ''kill or capture'' the cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr. That can only make him a hero and get him elected - or increase the rage we seem to have stirred up (600 killed in Fallujah last week, mostly women, children and elderly).

First good sign was a U.S. commander negotiating a cease fire...

 

Iraq's Burning Days

Things seem to be getting very ugly in Iraq just the past few days - since the horrible killing and mutilating of four American contract workers. Yesterday a riot was started by a Shiite extremist, Mullah Sadr that I warned about months ago in one of my Global American articles. So if the Shiites start shooting, the entire country of Iraq blows up in our face.

Until now, the violence has been limited to the SUNNI Muslim areas that had been favored by Saddam. Yesterday's riots by the Shiites' (60% of the population) is a Bad Omen. It makes a June 30 hand-over extremely risky. The whole place could easily fall into a nasty civil war with American troops caught in the middle. Iraq women are already losing rights and are having to "cover up" like Iran. Until now, Iraqi women never had to wear veils and chadors.

Bombs have been recently been found on German high speed rail lines and a Spanish bullet train.  I gave a terrorism analysts speech to a Houston Energy Transportation group last Friday about the potential for attacks in Houston by Al Qaida. Some kind of ship attack on the U.S. is making the newspapers as far away as Australia.

I told the group that many of our new rules won't work on terrorists. Al Qaida was sophisicated enough to know that a hit on Spain could knock them out of Iraq. I wonder if any of our intelligence geniuses had that figured out before the Madrid train bombing? If not, why not? 

If they can hit any American ally without warning, it sends the message that America can't protect its allies. And that makes it hard to get allies.

We should never have taken our eyes off Osama when we first went into Afghanistan after 9 11. The diversion to Iraq eliminated no major weapons and has been a major recruiting tool for Osama and his extremists - now they can blow up tons of real people with tons of new recruits instead of just Afghan rocks...

What bothers me the most is the young American soldiers have been put in harm's way by people who had no post-war plan and wrong intelligence.

Search Mission

Expect the unexpected. About 4 p.m. as I was taking a break from getting ballot access signatures and walking through a library with my wife, I got a call from the Squadron Commander. They needed a pilot to fly a mission for an "ELT" search. My plans went out the window. This would be one of my first as a certified "Mission Pilot" pilot in command. My observor was a first class pilot Capt. Paul Nelson, who plans to fly over Australia this summer with his wife who can't fly but is a terrific plane spotter. Our scanner was the small but dyanmic D.J. Barfield - a nonpilot.

An ELT is the device that goes off when an aircraft or ship goes down, but often they malfunction and the Air Force doesn't know if its a real crash or a false alarm. We have to fly them anyway and find out. The signal will keep bouncing off the Air Force satellite until the device is located and turned off. So we flew a mission to find it.

Not so simple. It turns out ELT signals are hard as hell to trace - today the Incident Commander thought maybe the signal was traveling down a highline to give a false echo somewhere else 100 miles apart.  The radio equipment is still simple stuff, just a direction finder and "beep, beep, beep" sound over the headphones. We ended up flying 50 miles west of Houston, then back and to the Ship Channel on the east, locating signals in several areas - from daylight to dark.

It's a year round job the Air Force turns over to its Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol who also fielded a ground team, also volunteers. 99% turn out to be false alarms, but you never know which one is the 1%, so all are treated the same. The sooner you find an ELT at a crash site the better.

This one is still unknown. Lowering clouds dictated we return to base, leaving it to the ground team. It's nealry midnight and need to sleep some -except my wife, who got laid off a couple days ago, had a fire in the microwave roasting some Beignets and the house is still smoky. That's what I call getting fired up over Beignets!

Tomorrow it's back to trying to make a living in a tough economy, and watching the new Hamas leader threaten America, the President, etc.

I read a young Iraqi woman's blog I've referenced before to find out what is really happening in Iraq. From her journal it sounds like they still need rescuing...expect the unexpected. More later.

KICKOFF

We kicked off our Petition drive last weekend. Above are some photos from it - everyone loved the beignets. Then Saturday night we had a fundraiser in Sugar Land - when it ended the place was PACKED. 

I found out today that we even had a volunteer police officer providing security out front of the meeting room last night. People in my church today were in the restaurant and saw the officer standing by my sign, as did my wife (who came in later and saw him).  Kind of a mystery, because he was not there eating. Someone is looking out after us.

Press conference scheduled for tomorrow for my first big endorsement from a group that normally would endorse a Democrat - a coup for the independent Texan. More later....

 

Campaign whirlwind - Surprise Meeting with Bush 41

It's has been such a blur over the weekend. The tragedy in Spain in the middle of waves of people coming in for our petition kick off sign up, and a full weekend of events. 

Yesterday I went from dawn to nearly midnight --from our church to watching our local Rabbi give an interfaith talk at St. Laurence Catholic church--the biggest in Sugar Land (well received), and I ended up at a Muslim school event until late. It was an interfaith Sunday quite by chance. More on it later.

Got to run. Memorial today for the Spanish people killed by Al Qaida striking Europe for the first time. The Spanish people were so mad that the government withheld evidence that this was Al Qaida's first European target for backing Bush's war against Muslim Iraq that it got the boot. There is a Memorial today.

Later...

3:15 p.m. Amazing. Went to the Spanish consul to sign the book of condolences - and while waiting to sign in walked former President George H.W. Bush (Bush 41). 

Since he was about a foot away and no one said anything, I said: "Welcome, Mr. President."

Consul General Montesino, the former President and I ended up in a discussion of recent events as the President kindly waited his turn to sign the booik.

I've got to run again, but here's a couple photos - Aura Rodriquez, the Venezuela consul general was so kind to use my camera to take these, and I thank her.

It ended up that my entry was the first to follow President Bush's...Got to run again.

Spain's 9 - 11

I've been to Madrid, many years ago. When I heard about the horrible terrorist attack on its train station, I remembered a city that is both old world and new world. The new Madrid had buildings that looked like modernistic oil cans which could be in Houston or Seattle. The old city had triangle shapped stone buildings with beautiful sculpture.  The buildings elevators didn't have inner doors, so you pushed a button and stood back as the floors went by.

It all changed on March 11 when 200 people were killed by the series of backpacks exploding in its trains within minutes of each other. The authorities blamed ETA, the Basque group, but they had never done anything like this. ETA killed 200 in a year, not in a day. Today they arrested some Moroccan and Indian suspects.

I think Al Qaida is now declaring war on any ally of the U.S. who supported the war in Iraq - Spain, Japan, Britain and Poland primarily.  After 9 11, the French headlines read: "We are all Americans." People in Madrid call their city 'La Villa' (the village). Perhaps our headlines should read: "We are all part of 'La Villa'." 

What a day. Met one of our future astronauts, Lt. Col.  Michael Good at a space function.

Wife has severe pain. Must go...

Driving at Night with a Full Moon

Just got in from a day meeting at Austin. On the way back the sun went down and a orange Full Moon rose over the horizon. It was stunning, even as it finally went behind a shroud of thin clouds as I drive east through the country before re-entering Houston space.

"Henri" just came in and is bugging me, although he went out for a couple breaks after I got hom. Maybe he's mad we didn't take him to the Moscow Ballet's appearance at little Stafford's new convention center on Saturday night - or to my wife's grandmother's 100th birthday party earlier that day. Or maybe he's just being Henri and is jerking my chain, because he just gave up and is sprawled on his stomach on the rug.

Primary voting is in 2 days and I'm glad I'm not in it like before. It's too short of time. No one is thinking its time to vote, it's March! I don't know how the heck I got 20% against a 18 year powerful incumbent without funding -- and less than a month to campaign (after I got back on the ballot after they booted me off in 2002).

Enough action for now. Later..

The Mockingbird Incident

Life sometimes happens dramatically within feet of you, even when you don't know it. I was working in my study upstairs - totally unaware that a major drama was unfolding downstairs this morning. 

Somehow Henri, the 100 pound mess knocked open a back door to the garage - and a Mockingbird flew into the living room.  After 10 years of "another boring day at the house," our save-a-pet cats and two dogs suddenly got really wired at the idea of a bird lunch.

My wife was trying to save the Mockingbird as Minou, the fem huntress who faced down 100 lb Henri dog -- when she weighed 7 pounds -- was closing in fast. Louis XIV ("14th"), and his senior kitty black and white spots were close behind her. Lexie and Henri added to the mix. Laura somehow got the front door open and the Mockingbird finally flew out and landed in a tall pine tree in the front. Saved.

I was clueless anything had happened. If she had not told me, I would not have guessed. For the animals it was a 100 year flood for events. Now it's back to running off with socks and paper shredding for Henri.

Laura said in the past that "a Mockingbird in the house" was a sign of a pending death in a family (or extended family). As it happens, her grandmother will be celebrating 100 years of age on March 6 at a family event. But she's still sharp and full of memories of living in Asia in her youth, etc. I think she's good for another 100 -- and could outlast more family members.

Iraq is still happening but it's only a small piece of the global puzzle. I've got to run. I recommend that you check out the blogs by the Iraqis living in Baghdad. I have provided links to their sites in earlier entries. We Americans must keep in touch with common Iraqi citizens moms and dads like ourselves -- and what our polcies are doing to them and their country. Only then can we intelligently improve what we are doing.

Sent out a Global American article today on this:

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,582584-3,00.html

More later...

Mr (Miss?) Groundhog was right

Not long after the last entry another wave of COLD and RAIN swept over us. I "flew" low yesterday, driving in a steady cold mist in my paid for '90 Mercedes whose heater gave out some time ago along with the radio so I get to miss a lot of talk radio --which isn't missing much. I miss the heater more. I hear Rush falling in love with the sound of his own voice but there's no one else allowed on the mike or phone to say: 

"Well Rush, now that you got treatment for your drug problem, why are poor kids being put in jail right now for the same thing?" Why aren't you changing that -- or is jail only for poor folks?

Nope, the only callers allowed through are those agreeing with him. That does not sound like America to me. No conservative can claim that is a true democractic forum. But the screaming opposite opinions on the other shows don't impress me either. How about some sane dialogue instead folks?

If we had a legal system that ran like talk radio shows, only 1 side would get to put on evidence and then the judge would make a ruling. That sounds a lot like the Soviet Union and the old China communist system more than what our founding fathers (and mothers) had in mind.

I've seen it happen here in the good ole USA. With one party in control (be it Democrats or Republican) legal extremes and abuse happens. Exhibit A: The GOP Pork machine in DC is outdoing any Democrat pork - now 1/2 trillion budget hole!

I see America hiding from the world.  We could win big if we embraced it instead.  I see a world of potential friends. The current administration sees a world of enemies. I've been in over 55 countries and know from experience that is not so.

Fareed Zakaria in NEWSWEEK said it best in his Feb 2 piece: "The One Note Superpower."  While our leaders fixate only on the negative, they fail to see the positive opportunities ahead.  The globalization engine has continued to move and we have much more on the global agenda than terrorism - such as jobs, skills, medicare care, etc. etc.

Pennsylvania Phil Groundhog was right this year - Winter has been hanging around too long and will be around a bit longer. I'm ready for Spring...

Surprise Alert

SUNNY days have replaced the cold rain.

Late yesterday I got notice of an alert that required we flight test some special equipment. Today was a beautiful blue, perfect day for such a test. I had to postpone a meeting with a new client in order to show up since it happened that my name fell on today's duty roster as an aircrew member if an emergency came up.

What came up was a 4-state test with us combining with FEMA, Texas DPS, the Governor's office etc. We were part of a 2 plane team - one that shot special video to cover anything from hurricane evacuation routes to a nuclear disaster. The second plane was an orbiting transmitter - it sent the photos back to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). So we had instant statewide video transmitted real time through the system. I was co-pilot in the "high bird" - we had a special monitor and instrument so we could see the photo image transmitted from the video plane as we circled at 10,000 feet and our plane re-transmitted the image to the EOC.

One shot that impressed me was a burning oil fire sending huge clouds of smoke into the air somewhere near Corpus. Our plane even provided the GPS coordinates so ground teams knew exactly where it was coming from. This is something we've needed to do for years and we have only received test equipment so far. Much remains to be done. If the Bay City Nuclear Plant had a failure people in Houston would be threatened. We still need the equipment to monitor for nuclear material that could be smuggled in.

Anyway, it was a long day of flying since we didn't get back until after 5. In New Braunfels airport the cook had quit so it turned out the line guy who filled our plane with gas was doubling as cook. I have to admit he did a great grilled chicken sandwich, although I was wondering if it would come out smelling like 100 LL aviation gas (it didn't :0).

I just read that now they think Al Qaeda has people over here. This could be more bogus intelligence, but sooner or later it will happen unless we get better at resolving these global issues.

Client meetings tomorrow. More sun is forecast. Can't wait for spring. Things keep getting more interesting by the day. Who would have thought Howard Dean would not be the Democratic nominee? This is proving to be a year of surprises, and change. People are telling me that are ready for a change and are tired of politicians who have been in office for decades. Good! :0) 

More Cold Rain - Day at Baker Institute

Cold, steady rain falling. Seems like its gone on for days now. You huddle in your coat and hope no one skids into your car.

Went to the Baker Institute at Rice University today to hear a speaker, the "Mayor of the Pentagon."  The description sounded like a full time job for a small company instead of one person. We sat at round tables with a nice box lunch.

At the end one of the questionaires was a young man who looked American, but said he was an Iraqi whose family had business in Iraq for years. After the speech I went over to meet him. A Voice of America reporter got to him first, so I listened in to the interview as he described how they had a factory and struggled to survive during sanctions and the war. He's going back this summer, as he has every year.

I got to meet a Profeesor  from the Hebrew University who still had jet lag and Mrs. Gillis, the President's wife and some other sharp people.

Then the VOA reporter wanted to ask me some questions as a terrorism analyst about Iraq. I basically said my concern was that Osama was the global killer and Saddam just beat up on Iraqis. The young Iraqi man nodded in agreement. But now Osama has had  a year or so to conduct bombings and plan his next big U.S. spectacular, and I felt we were in great jeopardy because we quit chasing him and went after the wrong guy who didn't have WMD's or anything to do with 9 11. So we just spent at least $200 billion and over 500 young American lives on the least dangerous one of all the ones in the world, including North Korea's Kim Jung Il.

Wife is calling.

Ignoring such a call is a greater risk than a WMD... More later...

Raining outside. At least today Henri, the 100 lb dog who thinks he's a puppy, didn't jump on the bed at 2 a.m. and give me the full body press until I got up and let him outside to take a nature break. He did that the day I took my flight test. But then there's a plan. Once I'm up the little Minou ("Me New" the cat) gets a can breakfast, but never eats it all. Guess who's eager for the leftovers? Yep, explains the 100 lbs. Since Minou and Henri usually can't stand the sight of each other, it's amazing to see how they cooperate in the area of food.

Winter has closed in, giving us several days of clouds and rain. You go out only if you have to go somewhere, which is always. We should have floats on our cars in Houston - or amphibious (sp?) cars. Half the time you're fording water to get from A to B. 

Another bombing in Baghdad. Nephew Daniel's company was hit a second time, a week after the Mason City paper did a story on an earlier attack. It described how Daniel and one other medic tended to the wounded. A week after the article a mortar round killed the other medic. It made my stomach hurt.

I wonder if Americans would have supported risking their sons and daughters had they been given honest information - that there was no imminient threat of attack by Saddam, who had no weapons of mass destruction and was writing a lousy fiction book before the war, hardly a General focused on bringing us down.  While Congress and the White House give their buddies no bid contracts to the VP's ex company in Iraq, kids like Daniel and his unit pay the price.

I hated Saddam but its worse when the American people are deceived about the necessity of something as serious as starting a war. I believe Americans will do the right thing if given the truth, but we never had that opportunity. Now its cost over 500 of our young, over $200 billion and thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

And worse yet, the stupid mistakes made --like not having a post war plan--are going to cost more lives. I discovered Daniel's unit, a supply and maintenance unit, doesn't have enough troops protecting them. They drive the tankers and food trucks that keep the rest going...

Pray for Daniel and the rest of those kids over there, protecting the cronies of those in power who are making millions off this war and the innocent blood of these kids.

Mission Pilot Flight Test - The Howling

Outside this morning the clouds are low, and the wind is howling.

Must be the day scheduled for my flight test. Seems to happen every time. But I figure if I can pass during the worst of conditions then I'm good for the rest.some reason every time. Today was the last test I needed to be certified as a "Mission Pilot" with the US Air Force Auxiliary (aka Civil Air Patrol) where I am a volunteer. It's taken a year and a half.

So we flew a 'search-and-rescue' check out flight. Luckily, by the time we took off the sun had broken out, but the winds were strong, gusty and COLD. A small search plane in such winds is sometimes like being strapped in a roller coaster. Take off is a snap but landings are serious business in strong cross winds. Running the controls can be like pumping iron, hands and feet doing different balancing acts at the same time.

Back in the real world, Ricin toxins have turned up for the very first time in the U.S. -first the White House (kept secret until the 2nd incident) then at Sen. Majority leader Frist's office. But Janet Jackson's bosom exposure at the Super Bowl is getting more media attention then a terrorist attempted assassination of our leadership. America is going to sleep again, and that's dangerous.

More later...

Super Bowl

We managed to get through Super Bowl in Houston without a terrorist attack, so the year is off to a good start. My Squadron was on "standby" all weekend.

Last week I spent days at the airport working on a flight certification for "mission pilot" to get it done "just in case." I feel something is about to happen and wanted to get the flight tests done. 

But rain or the clouds were too low. But we get the Squadron Internet hook ups operational --finally--at the HQ. It took a half dozen of us two days to pull it together. 

I did get checked out and approved in the USAF Aux 182 by another Squadron member who flies jets for Continental Airlines, so if he thinks I'm good enough, that should be good enough. The First time we were scheduled to do the check ride rain started pouring, forming large waterfalls off the wings. I always get a flight test in the worst conditions. Next day we did it in marginal conditions.

Suddenly instead of Dean the Democrat nominee process has made a dramatic swing to Kerry at the moment. Winds of change in the air.

My Congress campaign seems to be pulling together, day by day. We'll see.

Slow this Planet Down

Things are moving so fast it's hard to keep up. SLOW THIS PLANET DOWN! Umm. That didn't seem to work.

We had great poltical theater on Tuesday, then I took a couple days off to work as a volunteer pilot to give disadvantaged kids their first chance to fly a small plane. Almost all of these kids have never been in a small plane. Through the Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol) "0rientation Flight or "0 Flight" program, they get a big ego boost and a major achievement in their young lives. Once we take off we let the young cadet handle the controls until it's time to land (we went to Brenham airport, which has an incredible restaurant). We had about 5 pilots per day for 3 days.

The one negative this time was that we had a lot of mechanical issues with the aircraft. On one flight I was bringing back two cadets -- and the flaps would not work, so I had to make a high speed landing without them. Fortunately, it was one of my better landings. That same plane had an electric failure with another pilot the day before. The Air Force needs to buy us some newer airplanes if we are going to continue doing 85% of its U.S. searches and fly cadets safely around. But the kids loved it and I enjoyed boring holes in the sky instead of my usual work routine of legal stuff (and politics).

The political theatre is this: As Iraqis formed a 10 mile long line demanding democracy, democracy was being bushwhacked back here in America when a GOP challenger was knocked off the ballot against the incumbent Constable in my district (it happened to me two years ago in the GOP primary when I challenged DeLay). The young man was running against a Constable whose friend is a powerful Congressman (yep, the same Tom DeLay). Suddenly he gets called to go to Iraq and they pull out a defense reg that says he's now ineligible to run (but not die for his country) and kick him off the ballot! I was shocked. 

Well, I wasn't alone. ALL the media showed up for the court hearing and the GOP team lasted an hour before they dropped their case and let the kid on the ballot. It was like a circus. So, I'm not sure if our Majority Leader is giving Iraqis an example of democracy they --or we-- want to follow.

Stay tuned. More theatre is sure to follow.

Coast Guard Swim Test

Got up early and drove in a steady rain to Ellington Air Base to take the annual Coast Guard "Swim Test." I was part of a Air Force Auxiliary Squadron that is starting to get to know the "Coasties" (as they call themselves) to work with them under a "MOU" (Memorandum of Understanding).

The Coast Guard flies over the Port and Coastal areas while the USAF Aux flies over land only - but we both do search and rescue.

The test is swimming 50 yards (150 feet) in a pool with flight suit and flying boots on. You can either have a "PFD" (Personal Floatation Device) or not. I went macho and said I'd do it without the buterfly wings. So I jumped in the 10 foot deep pool and went for it. The first half was easy but the last half of the pool, with the heavy flying boots full of water was a struggle. I kept getting slower. There was no time limit thank god and I finally grabbed the edge at the end. Next time, forget macho.

Then there was a raft test you have to take only once to qualify. It looked easy but pulling yourself into a small raft half submerged is tricky. Finally I hurled myself in and the guy said: "You passed." I realized I'm out of shape. It took a long time for me to get my wind back.

Headed home and showered off the clorine. The sun then broke out in the afternoon so we had 60's instead of the deep freeze hitting up north.

Yesterday I became an official independent candidate for Congress via a filing of a document with the Secretary of State. The temp website is at: http://FjetlandForFairElections.Bigstep.com

The incumbent has been in power 20 years, as long as Saddam. It's the 21st Century and American democracy could use some fresh ideas and new leadership. We just fought a war to end a one party state in Iraq, yet our own politicians are trying to create dominance by one party here. That leads to abuses as we've seen in Iraq and countless places like it.

So, I'm doing the American thing, trying to keep our democracy alive by running for office. The odds are very long, but great things have happened with long odds. Columbus discovered America when he was supposed to fall of a flat earth. NASA put men on the Moon after many a rocket exploded on the pad. Regardless of the outcome, it's the journey that is important.

We are still a high priority terrorism target.

Just back from New Hampshire and Boston over the weekend. My wife and I ended up in New England on one of the COLDEST days since 1875 in some places. Not much snow but the biting cold was like ice cubes stuck to your face.

Attended a conference sponsored by Independents and gave a 3 minute speech. Really a great group of people and very diverse. We'll see what comes from it.

News from Iraq continues to be helicopters shot down and soldiers killed. Big controversy on whether former treasury secretary O'Neill said Bush planned the war from the beginning. Apparently he wrote something about Bush acting like a blind man in a room full of deaf people. Not sure what that is all about but something is up to hear that from a former treasury official.

I'm having to refile my papers for Congress - it will be the 3rd boundary for the district since I started this quest in 2000.  It's supposed to change only once every 10 years. We fought a war against a one party state in Iraq and now some would have one man rule here by certain members of Congress. Is this a role model for the Iraqis.

Boston and Manchester were a great change of pace as we begin a new year. More later...

A new year already

New Year's day in Houston was foggy. Then the temps went into the 60's and 70's for a few days. Is this winter? Then suddenly a couple days ago the COLD hit. It started raining last night, a wet, cold rain that makes you glad you are inside instead of camped out by a fire with only a horse and a blanket.

It's been too busy to write the last week. The court just upheld Tom DeLay's GOP redistricting plan that knocks out more Democrat Congressmen in Texas. At the same time, a GOP friend of mine running for Constable in DeLay's home district of Ft. Bend - was told he was being dropped from the ballot because he has to go to Iraq on active duty during the primary. He is running against another Republican incumbent who DeLay uses for security when in town.

So is this how DeLay & Co. treats military guys serving their country - by denying them access to the ballot as a candidate?  So this DeLay's example of Democracy-at-work for the Iraqis? 

It stinks - which is another confirmation I did the right thing when I filed papers at the end of 2003 to become an Independent candidate for Congress in this district. There's no way to get past DeLay in the GOP primary and the Democrat candidate has no global experience and always loses this district (with 35%) anyway. However, if I keep the GOP 21% and can somehow add the Dems 35%, I win and the District gets its first Globally experienced Congressman with expertise as a TV terrorism analyst..

Meanwhile it is as if we have to fight our own power abusing Saddams right here in America - a one man dictator who has just engineered the third boundary change I've had to navigate in this Congressional district since 2000. I know this personally because I ran in the GOP primary in 2000 and 2002 (and got 21% of the GOP without funding and no mailings or TV) -- and in 2004 I face yet a 3rd configuration of District 22.  Redistricting is supposed to be once a decade, not 3. Democrats abused it --and it's no better when Republicans do the same. It should include swing voters and minorities, not cut them out like DeLay's plan does.

It should be an interesting year.

Oh yes, my initial website is at:

www.FjetlandForFairElections.Bigstep.com

then it will become www.FjetlandForFairElections.Org