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.

Friends of Liberty VOL 14
by Jim Clonts, 2009

07/06/2009

On Thursday, June 25th, Democrat Congressmen Henry Waxman introduced a nine-hundred page energy and climate change bill into the House of Representatives, a bill with far-reaching impacts on our economy, security and quality of life. At 3:09 AM, Friday June 26th a 345 page addendum to the bill was introduced. At noon of the same day a vote was scheduled. When the Minority Party Leader requested a copy of the bill, he was told it was not ready for distribution and was given an incomplete copy. Republicans were not involved in the writing of this bill and were not privy to its contents before this date. Given that no one can read almost 1300 pages in less than 24 hours, it was assured no one, Democrat or Republican, knew all the provisions of this bill. Five hours were given by the Democrat leadership for debate and House Minority Leader John Boehner was chastised by Congressman Waxmen for exceeding the 20 minutes allotted to him, though, by tradition the Minority Leader has no time constraints during final deliberations on a bill.

I would venture to say there was more debate to be found in the legislatures of Saddam Hussein and Joseph Stalin. The Democrat Party has assumed the iron-fisted control of Third World dictators and is making a mockery of our legislative system. The prevailing Democrat attitude is "we won the election---we'll do what we want, when we want." Political discourse has ceased to exist. Now, with Al Franken finally "finding" enough votes to win his Senate seat in Minnesota, the Senate Democrats are filibuster proof and can vote to end debate on a bill even before it begins. They can ram anything through the Senate they like.

Congress was not intended to be a rubber stamp entity. Debate is necessary and arguments should be accurately and objectively reported in the media, thereby keeping the people informed so public support or opposition can be cultivated and gauged. The electorate votes for people whom they believe will represent them best, however, this does not mean that the public participation ends on election day. The voter cannot know in advance what bills Congress will take up, or even how their representative will vote. It is the duty of Congress to provide a process whereby people can communicate with their congressmen when they feel strongly about a bill being considered. Apparently, public input is not a concern of the Democrats. Debate and public input have been eliminated and the media are willing accomplices. In essence, the public no longer elects presidents or representatives. We elect an aristocracy (or maybe an oligarchy) for two, four or six year terms. With a compliant mainstream media to "brainwash" the masses, politicians only have to deal with the public during election years.

Here's where it gets scary: In Honduras, presidents are constitutionally limited to one term. The current president has a cult-like following (sound familiar?) and he scheduled a referendum vote to extend his term. The Honduran Supreme Court ruled his actions were unconstitutional and forbid the vote being held. The vote would not have been binding as it did not follow constitutional procedure, however, the political intent of the vote was to foment public unrest and ignite the fires of socialist revolution. The president ignored the ruling and scheduled the vote. The Honduran Congress and Supreme Court, afraid of a popular uprising destroying their Republic and creating another Castro or Chavez, ordered the Honduran military to physically removed him, fulfilling their duty to their constitution. The Congress of Honduras assumed control of the government and appointed a successor (from the same political party as the old president) until scheduled elections in January. The world media called this a military coup, though no blood was shed and the military never assumed control of the government. If this had happened in the United States, it too, would have been the duty of the military, at the behest of Congress or the Supreme Court, to remove any president in open defiance of the US Constitution.

Why is this scary? Because the Obama Administration has come down on the side of the Honduran president who openly defied the constitution he was sworn to uphold. They have condemned the use of the military and the actions of the Honduran Legislature and Courts. Obama has taken this opportunity to stand up and march in lock-step alongside Raul Castro, Hugo Chavez and a host of other South American dictators. As a side note, in January of this year, Representative Jose Serrano (Democrat-NY) introduced a bill to repeal the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms. While Congressman Serrano's actions are constitutional, I think his actions say a lot about where this party would like to take America and who they want to rule...not govern...it.

JC

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