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 56
by Jim Clonts, 2010

06/10/2010

As I was watching this last season of 24 I recognized a valuable lesson for us, albeit most likely not one the producers of the show intended. In this year's season the moderate leader of a Middle-Eastern country comes to Washington to sign a peace treaty. The fictitious country was called the Islamic Republic of Komistan, but it seemed pretty clear to me it was suppose to represent Iran. Before the signing can take place there is an attempt on this leader's life and a coup erupts back in the IRK. There is talk of delaying the treaty signing, but US President Allison Taylor (Hillary?) pushes hard to get the treaty signed. "We've come so far. We're so close," she'd say. And of course, President Hassan of the IRK would relent. Later in the day Hassan was finally assassinated and it becomes obvious the coup is wide-spread and even inside Hassan's inner circle. Rather than cancel the signing, President Taylor urges Hassan's wife to assume power and sign the treaty. "We have to get the treaty signed for President Hassan's sake," was the rallying cry.

I'm sitting at home screaming at the TV, "It's a worthless piece of paper!" Just once in this season I would have like to have heard one of Taylor's advisors say, "Madame President, it won't matter if the treaty is signed if the regime that signed it falls." But, no. The writer's went so far as to have the US President commit crimes, human rights violations and cover up a Russian conspiracy which led to Hassan's death in the first place. For what? Signatures on a piece of paper, most likely to become worthless in the next 24 hours.

There is a valuable lesson here. The show was fiction, but our elected officials fixation on paper is real. These days Congress passes bills with virtually no debate. How can they debate a 2000 page bill introduced on a Monday with a vote on Wednesday? The Representatives, Senators and even the President do not read these bills. Nancy Pelosi said we have to "pass the healthcare bill so we know what's in it." We're finding out now the healthcare bill is not just bad, it's going to cost far more than originally thought, will cause insurance premiums to sky-rocket, will cause many employers to drop coverage for their employees, is leading to lay-offs in some industries as tax credits dry up, does not guarantee what was promised, is most likely un-Constitutional, and even worse, may not even be able to be implemented. Still, it was very, very important to get this piece of paper signed. As Vice President Biden said, "This is a big f^%&ing deal."

How will the Administration deal with illegal immigration? More paper. Since the Government won't enforce existing law (old paper) we now need Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a new law (fresh paper), which will just give amnesty to those in violation of the law. Presto. Problem solved, right?

How is the Administration dealing with the oil rig disaster? Paper. A criminal law suit against BP. How about a massive mobilization of manpower from the military, the Corps of Engineers, FEMA, NOAAS, EPA and the rest of the Federal work force, which incidentally has been growing at astronomical rates under this Administration? How about Federal boots on the beach for clean up as the oil comes ashore? How about Federal boots running the dredges Governor Jindal of Louisiana is begging for to create barrier islands to shield the Louisiana coast. How about blacking out the horizon with the silhouettes of Coast Guard cutters and maybe even Navy destroyers towing booms. How about doing something tangible rather than issuing subpoenas, more paper.

In the idyllic, utopian, illogical, but warm and fuzzy world of liberals, words on paper translate to results. Treaties, empty words on paper, with liars, tyrants and rogue nations are the measure of our foreign policy. Then when treaties are broken the Liberals shake their heads in wonder and can't understand why. "It was right there in the third paragraph. You think they just didn't see it? Maybe the words confused them?"

When ATT, Boeing, John Deere, Caterpillar and others had to declare massive hits to their bottom lines due to the new healthcare law's revocation of health-related tax credits, Representative Henry Waxman (D) ordered the CEOs of these companies to come to Capitol Hill and bring their books. I'm sure he was thinking, "Everyone knows ObamaCare is going to reduce costs for employers. These greedy companies are just announcing these losses in a vicious political attack against the President." A few weeks later Waxman cancelled the hearings. Someone explained to him what the words he voted for actually meant. The companies were required by law to report these losses. Reality intruded in Utopia.

Republicans are not blameless here. Many Republican lawmakers, John McCain, Susan Collins, Olympia Snow and Lindsey Graham come to mind, are more than willing to compromise their principles to "get something passed." It's about "getting the bill signed", the end of the process, the words on paper, not the tangible results of the legislation that matter. Implementation of the law is someone else's problem.

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan met with Soviet Premier Gorbachev in Iceland for a nuclear arms summit. Gorbachev made many promises in exchange for one thing: the US would promise not to test or deploy a missile defense system for ten years. Reagan agreed to reduce and even completely eliminate all nuclear forces within ten years with his own caveat: the Strategic Defense Initiative would be pursued and deployed. He was not going to leave the US sitting defenseless after giving up its nuclear arms. Gorbachev wouldn't budge. He said it was a matter of principle. Reagan nodded, understanding and respecting his position. Then he stood up and said, "Then we're done here." Gorbachev's mouth fell open as Reagan walked out of the summit, got on Air Force One and flew home. It was about more than getting a piece of paper signed. Six months later Gorbachev relented and agreed to another summit with SDI off the table. That was leadership.

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