Toward a Better New Year

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

                The start of a new year is the time for that annual exercise in futility known as the making of New Year’s resolutions. We seldom keep them for long, if at all, but the process makes us feel virtuous so I’ll continue the practice. Since the ruling class is far too busy to engage in it, I’ll offer a few suggestions for them.

                The latest congressional approval ratings stand at 22% and has dipped to as low as 16% this past year. That’s pretty pathetic, Congress. You have to try harder. Here’s a simple way to boost that average. Spend a little more time reaching across the aisle and seeking compromises and a little less time in attack mode. The public is really tired of confrontational government and smash-mouth politics and wants to see serious legislative solutions to the many serious problems facing us like border security, crime and inflation.

                The second recommendation, if followed, may also goose approval records a little. At least it couldn’t hurt. Spend less time in campaign mode, fund-raising and foreign boondoggles and more time doing what you were elected to do in Washington.  

                The remaining resolutions apply to all politicians. Remember that you were elected to represent or govern all the citizens under your jurisdiction, not just members of your own party. That includes all those who voted for your opponent or who didn’t vote at all and even those who said mean things about you.

                The fourth resolution is to recognize that it isn’t wrong or selfish to want secure borders. No nation can be really secure or properly protect its citizens without them. Ours are not secure and, consequently, drugs, diseases and criminals are pouring across, putting our citizens at risk. It’s not enough for Republicans to just complain about this. They must propose workable solutions. Here’s one that many countries have found successful. Put the rights of the citizens and their nation ahead of the rights of the immigrants. The fifth suggestion, then, would be to militarize the border since nothing else appears likely to work for long. So, If the National Guard isn’t too busy, could it please spend some time guarding the nation’s borders sort of like the Coast Guard guards the coasts? Please don’t tell me that the posse comitatus doctrine prevents law enforcement by the military. This is an invasion, folks, not a law enforcement incident. The Border Patrol tries but is mainly just directing traffic.

                Number six is to recognize that the path to racial harmony in American is to fulfill Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of a land where persons are judged, not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. We must achieve a colorblind America. That means the color of one’s skin never matters for any reason. Not even for college admissions, Harvard and Stanford. No need to celebrate every time a person of color achieves something because it really shouldn’t be news anymore. People of color have already distinguished themselves in every role that matters in America. And by the way, if black is a color, isn’t white a color also? Aren’t we all, therefore, people of color? Every life matters because every life is precious to God. That includes police officers. Until we restore respect for the law and the peace officers who enforce it, there will be no peace.

                Resolution seven is to work for election reforms that speed the vote-counting process and restore confidence in the integrity of our elections. Shorten periods for voting by mail and require that election results be announced by the close of business the day after election day. If some states can manage to do this, all states should be able to. A valid photo ID card should be required of all voters. Claims that this would restrict minority turnout because of greater difficulty in obtaining photo ID are simply bogus and insulting to minorities.

                Resolution eight is to recognize that a lack of political experience or identifying as an anti-establishment outsider come to drain the swamp is a cause for skepticism, not a sign of virtue. Candidates for high office will benefit from some political experience, particularly in an executive role in government. Candidates for president should have first demonstrated the ability to govern a state or large city before presuming to govern the world’s largest economy and superpower.

                Number nine is the need to accept the fact that in order for our nation to ensure that it will continue to remain the world’s leading economy and pre-eminent superpower will require significantly more investment in our military and particularly in our navy and air force. America and Americans would not prosper in a world where the People’s Republican of China governed by the Communist Party of China displaces us in this role and sets the rules for coexistence.

                Finally, ask yourself daily “How can I help make America even grander?” The answer is by putting the good of the nation ahead of my political career. It’s been a chaotic year and the people long for normalcy. Hopefully, 2023 will be saner. God bless each of you and God bless America. Happy New Year.

December 30, 2022

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

                The latest and hopefully last of Donald Trump’s gifts to the Democratic Party was the resounding loss of his favored candidate in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff election. Raphael Warnock defeated former NFL and college football star Hershel Walker by a convincing margin in spite of Mr. Trump’s endorsement or, more likely, perhaps because of it. This is the third Georgia election loss for the GOP which can be blamed on the former president and TV celebrity. One might think that he could be persuaded to retire from politics before he does further damage to the party brand if that’s possible. But Mr. Trump doesn’t care about the party brand or any brand beside his own and he’s too old and in love with himself to change his ways. Apparently, no potential contender for the Republican presidential nomination has yet to muster up the courage to tell Mr. Trump to his face that he is an anathema to their party and a gift to the Democrats.

                So strong was Trump’s endorsement of Walker that he described him as unstoppable which seemed to frighten away any serious opposition to his nomination. Far from unstoppable, he was an exceptionally weak candidate, unvetted, without political experience and, as it turned out, loaded with detrimental personal baggage. Warnock’s victory ensures that Democrats will now have a majority of members on every committee and a much easier time influencing legislation.

                Republicans and their supporters need to get over their strange fascination with celebrity populists who know how to fire up and entertain crowds at rallies and talk about draining the swamp but lack political experience and the willingness to debate opponents on the facts instead of trying to destroy them with personal attacks. Lack of political experience is not a virtue. If Mr. Trump is permitted to stage a replay of the 2016 nomination slugfest in 2024, Republicans will lose and I will be done with them.

                Christmas is here and a new year follows. We all need to learn how to tone down the political rhetoric, especially the candidates. I long for a return to civility in politics. Anger impedes progress, cheapens debate and poisons the political process. Election winners should reach out to losers and offer to work together or at least listen to their input. Republicans will now control the House and they must accomplish more than just obstructing the Biden agenda.

                The House, however, does have oversight responsibilities but preoccupation with endless investigations aimed at getting even with the minority party for their investigations will not play well with most Americans who want legislative solutions to pressing problems like inflation and the China threat. In short, Congress must show that it can chew gum and skip rope at the same time.

                Among the issues that Rep. James Comer’s Oversight and Reform Committee intends to investigate are: the chaos on the southern border and the related fentanyl crisis, the administration’s war on fossil fuels, the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, the origins of Covid-19, pandemic relief fraud and waste and the Biden family’s business activities. These issues are serious enough to justify investigations by Congress in accordance with its oversight responsibilities. Failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty. The emphasis, however, should be on reforms, solutions and lessons learned, not revenge.

                For all our problems and past mistakes, ours is still the greatest country on earth and the destination of choice for all the oppressed and huddled masses who risk everything to come here. We are not perfect. No one is, but as Winston Churchill once said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing after they have  exhausted all other possibilities.”

                Let us be grateful that we have the gift of citizenship in this great country as Christians celebrate the gift of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Lord and Savior. Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year to all.

December 23, 2022

A Close Call

                A commentary

                By J.F. Kelly, Jr.

                On a pleasant and clear autumn afternoon on San Diego Bay recently, two U.  S. Navy warships approached each other in the channel. An Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer (DDG), was standing into port and an amphibious ship, a Harper’s Ferry class landing ship dock (LSD), was outbound. They passed each other in the vicinity of a turn point in the channel between the southern tip of Shelter Island and Bravo Pier in North Island. The ships passed starboard (right) side to each other instead of executing a port (left) side to port side passage which is customary because ships are required by the rules to remain to the right of a narrow channel. They closed to a distance between them of about 35 yards according to observers which caught the attention of local and even national news media. Since no collision occurred, the ships proceeded on duty assigned but a subsequent investigation into the details of the incident will follow.

                The incident also caught my attention when ABC’s Martha Raddatz reported it on national news, saying to the effect that a disaster was narrowly avoided and that a collision could have blocked traffic in the only access to San Diego Bay. That, in my view, would have been most unlikely, given the improbability of damage to either ship’s propulsion systems or running gear, the availability of tractor tugs in the area and the relatively slow speeds involved, especially if the ships were maneuvering using large amounts of rudder, causing speed to bleed off.

                Photos accompanying the news accounts showed the LSD far to the left side of the channel, probably a result of having turned too early, using too much rudder, leaving it on too long or some combination of the three. The inbound DDG may have had little choice other than to come left and pass starboard-to-starboard to avoid the LSD. Departure from the rules is permitted, indeed required, if deemed necessary to avoid a collision.

                The event caught my attention also because I taught ship handling for fifteen years at a ship simulator facility at Naval Base San Diego, commanded three San Diego-based warships and transited San Diego Bay countless times in ships of similar characteristics. In our training for such evolutions we stressed the importance of avoiding having two ships arrive at a turn point or chokepoint in a narrow channel at the same time. Ships turn by forcing the stern to swing in the opposite direction using their rudders, thus taking up more space than their beam width and running the risk of swinging the stern into the other ship. Ships approaching such a turn point should first agree on which one should go first. In any event, they are required to communicate by voice radio and agree on a method for passing, normally port-to-port. Exchanging directional signals using the ships’ whistles is optional, but if used they would preempt voice signals.

                On an historical note, the largest man-made explosion up until the first atomic bomb occurred in Halifax as a result of a somewhat similar meeting situation. One ship proceeded on the wrong side of the channel and both ships failed to agree on a method of passing until it was too late to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, one of the ships had a cargo of ammunition which detonated, resulting in many deaths and property damage up to ten miles away.   

                The Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer is by far the more nimble ship of the two involved here. Though smaller in displacement, it is far more powerful, has a V-shaped hull and a keel and is a joy to drive. The amphibious ship, on the other hand, while a valuable workhorse, is larger, underpowered,  shallow-drafted, has no keel and because it is flat-bottomed, tends to slide through turns. Its maneuvering characteristics were once unkindly described to me by an LSD skipper as similar to those of a pig on ice skates. Suffice it to say, it is probably the most difficult ship in the inventory to drive. The area above the waterline, known as the sail area, is very large, so the ship is greatly affected by the wind which may have been a factor if it was blowing the starboard bow to port as it usually would given the prevailing westerly winds at that time of day in this area.

                In U.S. Navy ships, orders to the enlisted helmsman are given by a conning officer (CONN), usually a junior officer who has not yet qualified as officer of the deck (OOD) (the officer in charge of the bridge watch). The conning officer often is merely parroting orders from the OOD, captain or executive officer. Some have described this as conning by committee but it is intended to ensure that there be no confusion over who is authorized to give orders to the helmsman. Whatever the merits of the system, there can be some slight delay in the execution of orders to the helm because of more people being involved. In merchant ships, the master, chief mate or pilot usually conns the ship in and out of port. In Navy ships however, this function is generally performed by junior officers. In fact, most ship handling is, which usually comes as a surprise to civilians who marvel that such weighty responsibilities are given to such young men and women.

                Driving ships is unlike driving any other vehicle. Given the challenges of driving large ships and the increasing congestion in waterways, our safety records are quite good. Zero collisions is always the goal, of course. Major collisions and groundings are costly, widely-publicized and career-ending but fortunately rare by any reasonable definition. Conning a ship through a narrow channel requires constant and intense focus because in a matter of seconds, a ship could suffer a casualty and collide with another ship passing close aboard or a buoy or the ground and the reaction must be swift and instinctive to avoid it. Given the variables involved, including but not limited to weather, wind and current, there is no such thing as a “routine” channel transit.

December 16, 2022

Endless Elections

                A commentary

                By J. F. Kelly, Jr.

                For an entire week following mid-term election day, control of the House of Representatives had not been officially determined. Votes were still being counted in several states. Patience was being asked of the public. These things take time, they said, and every vote deserves to be counted. Those saying this, of course, were mainly Democrat party leaders because late votes are mail-in votes and predominantly Democrat votes. More Democrat voters vote by mail than do Republican voters who tend to favor voting in person.

                Reports of additional batches of mailed ballots are frequent, leading to the suspicion, albeit mostly among Republican voters without evidence, that the ballots were suddenly “found” in time to influence the results. Proof is seldom found but the suspicion persists and public perception regarding the integrity of our elections is important. Liberalized rules for submitting and counting mailed ballots has led to increased concerns about voter fraud in recent elections.

                Our Constitution clearly gives the individual states the responsibility for establishing the rules for the conduct of elections within their respective states. Many of us may dislike this arrangement since it results in many different rules in different states but that’s the way the founders intended it to be along with the electoral college system. To change that requires a Constitutional Amendment, unlikely to pass because of objections by the smaller states. It bears repeating that we are a union of individual states, not a nation of homogenous people. The original states were extremely reluctant to cede powers other than in the common defense, to a central government. The smaller states  feared domination by the larger states like New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts. As additional states joined the union, they accepted this arrangement and pledged to defend the Constitution.

                With fifty state legislatures devising their own rules for the conduct of elections, some will do it well and others will not. The states that are still counting belong in the latter category. There is no good reason why some are still counting while others like, say, Oregon and Florida were able to announce results by election evening.

                Things that contribute to public concerns about election integrity mostly involve voting by mail which is wonderfully convenient but more susceptible to fraud because of increased handling, different timelines for mailing, receiving, and counting them and curing mistakes or flawed ballots. Also, systems like ranked choice voting in Alaska and run-off elections delay results. Requiring a photo ID to vote would ease concerns about unqualified persons voting. Photo ID is required for dozens of daily activities like opening bank or store accounts, flying on commercial air, accessing health care, entering federal facilities, cashing a check, renting a car, etc. Why is it not required for something as important as voting? Arguments that it would reduce minority voting are bogus and imply that they lack the intelligence or ambition to obtain photo ID which is readily available and free for the asking.

                Former President Donald Trump didn’t wait for the vote counting to end to make his big announcement that surprised no one but nevertheless delighted Democrat leaders.  He said that he would run again in 2024, the first president since Grover Cleveland to run again after losing re-election. He will thus try to extend his losing streak to four elections (counting the 2018 midterms, the 2020 loss to Biden and the 2020 Georgia Senate run-off election). Make that five if he screws up Herschel Walker’s chances in Georgia next month by becoming involved. As Sen. Mitt Romney said, “President Trump has been an albatross (for the GOP) for three elections now.

                Gov. Ron De Santis, when asked about Trump’s early announcement, said, “ We’ve just had an election. Can’t people just chill for awhile?” Well put. We spend far too much time in election/campaign mode. Consider members of the House of Representatives. They serve two-year terms and are always in campaign and fund/ raising mode. No wonder they don’t have time to craft quality legislation.  

December 12, 2022