Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Trump Executive Order Hurts Aviation Safety and Jobs

The trump is trampling on ground that is near and dear to my heart, commercial aircraft safety. I was an aircraft professional for over 35 years. Safety is something the vast majority of aircraft professionals take seriously, damn seriously. We know what's at stake. Remember that time half the roof of a Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 737 ripped off, sucking a stewardess out to never be seen again, and causing the aircraft to make an emergency landing? An airworthiness directive was initiated.

Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 737 
How about the time an Alaska Airlines MD-83 crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of Anacapa Island, California, after suffering a catastrophic loss of pitch control. An airworthiness directive was initiated. Those are just two examples of when an airworthiness directive was initiated because of an unknown design flaw or other problem being discovered the hard way. Many times An airworthiness directive is initiated because a mechanic, pilot or other professional aircraft personal discover a problem before it takes anyone's life.

People who work on aircraft have a saying. "You do your job in such a way that you would have no fear if your own mother were on board that craft." Safety is the #1 concern, then everything else comes next. That not only goes for the person with hands on the aircraft, but the people who are on the ground too. That brings to mind Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 that collided with a private Cessna 172 over San Diego. Both aircraft crashed into North Park, a San Diego neighborhood. Flight 182 impacted just north of the intersection of Dwight and Nile, killing all 135 people aboard the aircraft and seven people on the ground in houses, including two children. I remember that because I was in college there and seen the smoke billowing up. My brother and I rushed from school because we thought it crashed into our house! It didn't, but never the less we seen the aftermath. Let me tell you something. It's not something you ever want to see. At the time it was the deadliest plane crash in U.S. aviation history. When is the last time you looked up and seen a commercial aircraft flying over your head?


Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 
My specialty was aircraft structures. I was even honored with the post of Chairman of the Department Safety Committee when working for Lockheed. I take this very personally. The trump is not only endangering all of us with his idiotic and unthinking action, he is effecting jobs in the aviation industry too! Take the example of the Alaska Airlines MD-83 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. That was caused by the jack screw in the tail of the aircraft. Every last MD-83 in the fleet was required to have work done to it to correct the problem due to the issuance of an airworthiness directive. The same goes for the Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 737 I mentioned. All Boeing 737's were required to undergo an extensive structural modification to correct the problem. All of that means people are working fixing the problem. I myself worked much overtime on Boeing 737's doing the modification. We were saving people's lives and making a living at the same time.

You know what the trump said about the "so-called" judge who blocked his emigration order. He said that if anyone is hurt because of it to blame the judge. I say the same of trump. If one drop of precious Human blood is shed because of an airworthiness directive not issued, that blood is on his hands. The terrible truth of the matter is, that blood could be your own mother's blood.

The trump is a fool! Me MUST be removed before he causes the death of many people. #trumpmustberemoved

Friday, February 3, 2017

We Must Have Uniform Party Rules and Election Laws

Some Democrats believe that Bernie Sanders "should never have been allowed to run for the democratic party nomination". I disagree with that notion. Any person who registers with a political party has a right to run for any government office or party position from day one, and that should never be disallowed. If the voters don't want them, they will not vote for them. It should never be up to party officials to dictate who may or may not run for a post. That should be left up to the people the party serves.
Which brings up a point about how the political parties are run. After every election the parties rules committees meet and tweek their rules in an effort to gain advantage over the other. They gerrymander using positions of power gained and scheme trying their best to either maintain an advantage or create advantage over the other parties. In the end it is the voter who really loses out.
I understand the people's anxieties about the election process. The process doesn't serve them very well, so why should they get all excited about it? The process is rigged from the start. No wonder too. The same criminal politicians who are funded by rogue corporations are the same people who write the rules of the game.
One major reason, other than gaining advantage over the opposing political parties, is to keep the voter from gaining any political power in the party. They must only be allowed to vote for the candidate of the parties choice, nothing more.
The Democratic Party failed the people when they tried to shove Clinton down people's throats, and lost the whole thing because of it. I seen the shoving down our throats and scheming when I was a delegate in the Democratic Party of New Mexico. So that's what happens when a political party does not heed the wishes of the people. People stay home and don't vote, or they break ranks and vote outside their party because of apathy, mistrust, anger or other things that indicate a basic lack of trust in our democratic system.
There is only one thing that will restore trust in our system. We must dismantle that system, and replace it with one that serves the people and not just industry, corporations and the wealthy elite. The way to do that is to take away the power to make party rules from the political parties. Take away the power from the states to make election laws. Turn over these powers over to the federal government, namely the Federal Election Commission.
The states and the political parties have proven they can not be trusted with these vital functions. Time and again their malfeasance has shown through in spectacular fashion, and to the detriment of the avarage citizen. Allow the FEC the power to enforce uniform party rules and uniform election laws. Throw out the various party rule books, and replace them all with one rule book that all parties must follow. Disallow the states making election laws, and have uniform election laws that all states must follow. That is the only way to restore faith in the system. There was a time when the avarage citizen wasn't even allowed to vote for the president at all. The political parties have tried to keep it that way through all the scheming.
There is precedence for such actions as taking away the power of these parties and the states. Up until recently all former Confederate States had to have all election laws reviewed before they were instituted to insure they did not violate the Constitution. Once that provision was thrown out, malfeasance became rampant. Vote tampering, suppression and other tactics designed to give power over to some at the expense of others became the new norm, or should I say the old way restored. So people stayed home.
Our nation's people should void these party rule books in favor of one designed to be uniform across all parties, and that book must truly be one that hands all power over to the masses. Then our people will have power over the parties, and not the other way around. "People before Party" should be the new norm. The people should rule the parties, and not the other way around.