The Old Codger is still kickin' - What a difference a President makes. Wow !

Let's see...what will the Neocons say?...Oh, yeah, in the last days for Fidel Castro, the USA surrenders.

The Justice Department needs to drop any remaining charges against Michael Moore !

I congratulate the members of the delegation. Obama in Europe and our House members in Cuba. The world is on a path to peace. Nice, very nice.


Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., front, reacts during a news conference in Havana, Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Cuba's President Raul Castro met Monday with six visiting members of the Congressional Black Caucus for more than four hours, his first face-to-face discussions with U.S. leaders since he became Cuba's president last year. Back from left to right; Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif., Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D- MO., Rep. Bobby Rush, D- IL. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)

...Greg Adams, a spokesman at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, said Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, and two other lawmakers met with the ailing, 82-year-old Castro. He did not have further details, nor could he provide the names of the other Americans who attended the meeting.
The meeting appears to underscore the Cuban government's desire for improved relations with the United States under new President Barack Obama....

St. Croix among most endangered rivers

Signing ceremony for Wild & Scenic Rivers Act expansion, March 30, 2009.
Image credit: Rebecca Wodder

...The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (click here) designates 86 new Wild and Scenic Rivers, totaling over 1,100 miles in Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, California, and Massachusetts. The legislation includes important protections for 350,000 acres of land along the rivers and also contains new Wilderness designations for over two million acres of public land.
Rebecca Wodder, President of American Rivers, the nation’s leading river conservation organization, attended the signing ceremony at the White House....

The PDF Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (1.9 MBs) (click here)

American Rivers (click here)


Bob Nasby is a fly fishing guide. He says he has fished the St. Croix for 40 years, and every year sees it get more crowded and weed filled. (MPR Photo/Sea Stachura)

..."What a magnificent piece of water this is," he said. "I've fished a lot of rivers in my lifetime. But it never ceases to amaze me what it looks like when you're coming up through that valley."
The entire St. Croix River, more than 150 miles in length, is part of the National Wild and Scenic River System. Its headwaters are in Solon Springs, in northwestern Wisconsin. More than 8,000 square miles feed this river....

The America’s Most Endangered Rivers™ report (click here) is one of the best-known and longest-lived annual reports in the environmental movement. Each year since 1986, grassroots conservationists have teamed up with American Rivers to use the report to save their local rivers. The report is a call to action and emphasizes solutions for the rivers and their communities. By shining the spotlight on key decisions that will impact the rivers’ futures, and by providing clear actions for the public, the report has spurred scores of successes on rivers nationwide.
Coming on April 7, 2009: America's Most Endangered Rivers™ Report: 2009 Edition

The DE-ESCALATION of Militarized Governments, also known as No More Cold War

Lockheed F-35 will go into full production as a multirole combat aircraft. The F-35 has had its problems. Different from the air superiority fighter F-22, which will end the production at 187 aircraft, it will perform air and ground attack. It is lighter and less powerful but may prove to use less fuel. The one issue that still besets the F-35 is noise and there are communities suing the Air Force for that reason alone.

Air Force, Fla. city do battle over F-35 (click here)
By Travis Griggs - Pensacola News-Journal via Gannett News ServicePosted : Monday Apr 6, 2009 13:23:27 EDT
All is not quiet in when it comes to putting the F-35 Lightning II fighter at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The nearby city of Valparaiso has filed its second lawsuit trying to stop Eglin from becoming the home of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter training program for Air Force, Navy and Marine Lightning II pilots and maintainers.
Air Force officials broke ground March 20 on a $250 million training complex, expected to bring 113 aircraft and more than 10,000 military members and dependents to the region when fully operational in 2016....


Secretary Robert Gates' new Defense Budget shows 'good will' in demonstrating the de-escalation of the USA's military might. How much military does the USA need in a world that is now framing itself on non-proliferation and peace? It might sound naive to the Neocons of the USA, but, having an effective military is all a nation needs if 'aggression' is taken out of the formula.

The new Defense budget demonstrates a better approach to Homeland Security in commissioning Littoral Combat Ships more capable of 'near shore' maneuvers. In other words, these smaller ships can patrol the region of 'near shore' for issues of security than any aspect of Navy Operations today. It has the capacity to deploy small craft as well as helicopters.

The new Presidential Helicopter has been cancelled.

It isn't as though the Defense budget is puny, it is still a whooping $654.1 billion for the fiscal year 2009, however, it shows a clear path that downsizes elaborate programs that only cause 'escalation' in the international venues of weapon development.

If we are to be 'at peace,' it can be defined with a strong defense, HOWEVER, it does not mean the USA has to have a daughting military compared to none that only escalates concerns and mistrust between countries.

When military spending is trimmed in any country, the funding can be used for domestic purposes and improving the quality of life. If the USA is ALWAYS pushing the envelope for the simple reason of 'pushing the envelope' is causes other nations to do the same. If we are to believe in Non-Proliferation, we need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Cutting the USA military budget is a beginning to demonstrate our intent on de-escalating nation's military estates.

The 'lobbyists' are hard at work to scare Congressional members to demand the re-instatement of military spending. Write your Congressional Representatives to back Secretary Gates new budget.

Transformational Communications Satellite System (click here) removed from any budget allotment.


The TSAT program is 'reviewed' as being feasible, but, at what point do we stop being hideous about the ability of our military as compared to the abilities of the rest of the world?

I really think we'll be fine, especially in a project such as this that is still 'in concept' and not 'in use.'

I really don't want to hear how this is going to cost jobs. The decrease in military spending will enhance our national debt and allow for domestic spending on issues such as high speed magnetic rail. I am not going to argue the beleagured idea of sacrificing 'sane' transportation for the USA public that doesn't emit CO2. It's over. We need to go there. Perhaps we need to thank the military for finding ways to enhance the CIVILIAN life they protect.