WHEN PENGUINS FLEW AND WATER BURNED This is the true memoir of one US Air Force navigator’s journey from the schoolhouses of Air Training Command to the nuclear alerts of the Cold War to combat in a 35-year-old anachronism called the B-52. It is a first-hand account of life during the last days of Strategic Air Command, the early days of Air Combat Command and the ensuing military drawdown of the 1990s. From peacetime training exercises across the globe to combat operations in Desert Storm, Jim Clonts takes the reader inside the cockpit where life and death are seconds apart. Often comical, sometimes heart-pounding, other times tragic, WHEN PENGUINS FLEW AND WATER BURNED takes you into the world of military aviation, a crucible where warriors learn the true nature of character, conscience and mortality.

Choices in 2006
by Jim Clonts, 2006

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT MILITARY.COM, November 01, 2006

The hype surrounding the coming election is reaching new heights. Pundits, talk show hosts and the candidates themselves are labeling this one the most important election of our time. Of course, so was the last one, and any one that affects either their gaining or securing power. The simple truth is the fate of the United States, and humanity at large, does not hang in the balance. Our country's liberty, economy, defense and success do not really depend on who we send to Washington in 2006 or even in 2008. Regardless of who we send, we will endure.

Elections are about ideas, policy and direction. As voters we often become too wrapped up with labels, such as Democrat and Republican, and far too enamored with cults of personality, such as the one that surrounded Bill Clinton or even George Bush. The voter needs to ensure that party affiliation does not blind him or her from the truth. Over the last two centuries America has entrusted both the Republicans and the Democrats with power they did not deserve. As a nation we've made some good choices and some poor choices, but we continue to survive.

I believe America resembles a pack of stock cars on a super speedway. The pack, sometimes moving at high speed, other times slowly under caution, moves about the track, meandering to the left, then to the right, back to the left and so on. Some drivers see an advantage to the left, or liberal, side of the track and society swings that way for a while until the holes close and an advantage is seen to the right, or conservative side. Just like a race track, our society cannot go too far right or left without hitting the wall. If we ever knock down that wall, we will cease to be America. As the country moves from liberal to conservative and back again, the pack circles the track. After so many years of this cycle we often find ourselves back at the starting line and the process repeats. It seems our memory is one lap long.

As divided politically as America seems to be, our choices could not be clearer. There is a definite and quantifiable difference between the Democrats and the Republicans in their political and economic ideologies, kind of like the difference between night and day. The parties differ dramatically on theological and societal issues such as abortion, stem cells, gay marriage, the environment and separation of church and state, but these topics drive the one-issue voter and he or she with strong feelings for these issues will not cross their party lines for any reason. These can be considered cast votes and not up for debate. The two areas that deserve debate are the economy and national defense.

In theory the Conservatives believe in a hands-off economy. If the government keeps the tax burden low, small business will thrive and big business will expand. They believe the auto-pilots of supply/demand and competition will see to the rest. The government must provide a business environment conducive to economic growth. With growth comes jobs, wealth and, yes, tax revenues. The best way to help the poor and downtrodden is let the economy grow, which will produce jobs and opportunities. The best welfare in the world is a stable, good-paying job. The downside to the “hands off” policy is corporate corruption and broken laws. Capitalism works well as long as everyone plays by the rules. The government must police our economy, but not drive it.

The Democrats see things a bit differently. They love good-paying jobs, but they take every opportunity they can to saddle companies, small business owners, and investors with higher taxes and more regulation. In a global economy, they drive the large companies overseas in search of cheap labor and less regulation. The truth is most of the companies that flee the US do not do so out of greed, but out of survival. If you are manufacturing in the US and your competitor is manufacturing in Malaysia and you both sell in Ohio, you cannot offer a competitive price. In a capitalist economy that means bankruptcy.

Democrats see business simply as a way to pay for their ever-growing, socialist agenda and expansion of the Federal Government’s power to influence our lives. The Democrat strategy can be summed up as follows: raise taxes, provide assistance programs for those not paying taxes, transfer the wealth from the middle and upper classes to the lower, and get the vote of the person who benefits. One last requirement: keep the number of people requiring assistance high enough to win elections with their votes.

The good news is that finally our economy is strong enough to handle Democrat leadership, at least in the short term. Our economy is very large and there can be years between cause and effect. The economy lags government input. The Republicans cut taxes early in the first Bush term and it took years for the intended effect. It led to job creation and today the unemployment rate is less than during the Clinton years. Federal revenue, initially down with the tax cuts, is now well above previous levels due to the growth of the economy. The budget deficit has been reduced in the process and today the stock market is at an all-time high. The conservative strategy of tax cuts to grow the economy works, just as it did in the past when Presidents Kennedy and Reagan tried it. The first thing the Democrats will do is raise taxes if they take power, but tax cuts will always be a tool we can fall back on to fix their mistakes. Just as we have in the past.

I will concede the Democrats one point. Some people in our society are simply incapable of providing adequately for themselves. In some cases this is due to physical or mental illness, injury, acts of God, or other human tragedies. There are some people who simply don’t possess the personality traits required to survive in a competitive society. As a moral and prosperous nation it is our duty to take care of these people, to ensure they do survive and have opportunities to make something of their lives. Unlike the Democrats, who view a majority of Americans as victims of the system, I believe the people in real need represent a very small percentage of the population, a percentage we can afford to help wherever we can.

National defense if the other major difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. The last Democrat administration had to deal with terrorists just as we do today. They chose a law enforcement strategy. Terrorism was treated as a crime, terrorists as criminals and the courts as the battlefield. The Democrats believe in constitutional rights for terrorists. They do not believe in interrogating terrorists caught in the act. They want the police, the FBI and the lawyers to wage this war defensively. They do not support offensive military action. If the Democrats win you can bet funding for the overseas war on terror will be cut, forcing the Joint Chiefs to remove the troops from the region. We will retreat to a Fortress America, where we will wait for the next September 11th. Whereas the Republicans will send the terrorists cruise missiles, the Democrats will send them nasty subpoenas.

Let’s face it, though. Politicians are for the most part arrogant, power hungry, disingenuous, self-promoters. This goes for both Democrats and Republicans. In today’s world, candidates have to sell their soul to reach office and I find it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. I think most people would say they try to vote for the right person regardless of party, but how can anyone tell today who is the right person? A television ad portrays a candidate as flag-waving patriot while his foe runs an ad saying he wants to rescind the Constitution. I’m pretty sure both ads are lies, which means both candidates are lying. A smart voter should not listen to what a candidate says, but examine what he or she does. If the candidate has a history of agreeable votes he or she has earned your vote. If the candidate has no history one must fall back on party affiliation. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and zebras can’t change their stripes.

The real strength of America does not lie with the Parties, President, the Congress or any of the multitude of disingenuous, political hacks we send to Washington or our state houses. The economy and defense of the United States always lies in the hands of the American people. We are a hardy bunch and in our two hundred twenty-plus years have seen war, famine, disease and depression. The American citizen has turned this country into what it is today and regardless of who we elect, the beauty of the American System is that we get to correct those mistakes in the next election. John Adams once said, "Americans always get the government they deserve."

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