Lazy Reporting

Elaine Jarvik of the DesNews provides a plug, again (scroll down), for a 911 conspiracy group’s theory that the US Government is responsible for destroying the World Trade Towers on September 11th, 2001. Her report basically parrots the group’s website (Scholars for 911 Truth).

One of the tidbits she apparently gleaned from the website’s biography page, without fact-checking, is one group member, Robert M. Bowman, was a former director of the "Star Wars" defense program.

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a missile defense program initiated by Ronald Reagan. It was quickly dubbed "Stars Wars" after the earlier movie of the same name. The first director of SDI was Lieutenant General Abramson.

The conspiracy group's website states Robert M. Bowman, a retired USAF Lt Colonel, was the "Former Director of the U.S. "Star Wars" Space Defense Program in both Republican and Democratic administrations."

A quick 30 second "Google" search on "Robert M. Bowman" reveals that Lt Colonel Bowman (USAF retired) claims to have been a director of the "Star Wars" program under Presidents Ford and Carter. Who knows what Lt Colonel Bowman directed, but it was not the SDI one thinks of when invoking the “Star Wars” defense program initiated later under President Reagan (and it certainly would not have been called "Stars Wars" before the movie was released). There is also quite a bit of difference between a Lieutenant Colonel and a Lieutenant General. A reporter more cognizant of the military would have recognized a Lt Colonel would not have been running SDI.

A few other items of interest fall out from the “Google” search on Bowman. He is campaigning to be a Democratic congressional candidate from a district in Florida and he writes on “cults”, which includes a polemic against the Book of Mormon (of interest perhaps to some of the DesNews many Mormon readers). UPDATE (10/30/06): I've got the part about the polemic against the Book of Mormon wrong, the Robert M. Bowman I refered to did not write it. His son clarifies this in the comment below. His son also mentions that his father never claimed to have directed the SDI program. What I have in quotes in the fourth paragraph above is an accurate quote from the website http://www.st911.org/. The media used the term "Star Wars" to refer to the SDI program and I have to conclude the intent of Mr Bowman's use of the term is to gain more authority for his position. This was certainly the way Ms. Jarvik took it.

We’ll always have conspiracy groups; I would just like to see DesNews reporters do a little more work than print their news releases. Its only fair to the people being accused of treason.

Fate of Western Civilization

This is a must read from Mark Steyn, It’s The Demography, Stupid. His opening paragraph lays out what is at stake:

Most people reading this have strong stomachs, so let me lay it out as baldly as I can: Much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive this century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most Western European countries. There'll probably still be a geographical area on the map marked as Italy or the Netherlands--probably--just as in Istanbul there's still a building called St. Sophia's Cathedral. But it's not a cathedral; it's merely a designation for a piece of real estate. Likewise, Italy and the Netherlands will merely be designations for real estate. The challenge for those who reckon Western civilization is on balance better than the alternatives is to figure out a way to save at least some parts of the West.

Budget some time, this is a long read.

Sheep vs Trains

Bad couple of weeks for Utah sheep. Sheep vs Train I and Sheep vs Train II.

Sun Rise Beyond Francis Peak

2005 was a great year for the Calder family and we look forward to the dawning of 2006

A Law Unto Themselves

Several people who disagree with the Government’s eavesdropping on suspected terrorist suspects have taken the case to the New York Times. So far the NYT hasn’t made a case that any laws have been broken. What right did the disclosers have to compromise vital national operations? Did they even consult with their agencies lawyers to get a reading? The Clinton era associate attorney general backs President Bush’s NSA actions. Seems to me the best case these disgruntled folks can come up with is they have an opinion this sort of stuff should be against the law (an opinion that a good portion of Americans disagree with).

There really isn’t a gray area when it comes to the President’s ability to monitor enemy communications in wartime, but even if there was, in a democracy, the benefit of the doubt should go to the elected official, not anonymous cranks.

Some Thoughts on National Security Leaks

I must have been quite a rube when I joined the Air Force. I worked in weapon system development and my first job required the use of two file-cabinet sized safes for the classified material. I was so afraid of accidentally leaving a safe unsecured that I probably checked the doors three or four times after I had secured them. The thought of an accidental compromise was always in the back of my mind. If you wanted to push an obsessive/compulsive person over the edge just give him a safe stuffed with the government’s secrets.

Now I learn the government has taken pity on us overly cautious people. I’ve since found that one can mistakenly stuff classified documents in ones clothes and only lose your security clearance for three years. Or we can disclose national secrets direct to the New York Times without any apparent threat of prosecution (or that would have been leaked too).

Merry Christmas

This was an enjoyable Christmas for my family. Having Christmas on Sunday was a major factor - I look forward to another Sunday Christmas. Our family attended Sunday services and it set the mood for the rest of the day.

I am thankful for our Heavenly Father's love in sending His Son.

Nuclear Weapon Watch

It would only be a scandal if the administration wasn’t using radiation detectors (via Powerline)

Domestic Spying?

So… the National Security Administration (NSA) discovers an Al Qaeda phone conversation in the Middle East and determines to monitor future transmissions from these numbers. But then a call from one of these numbers happens to be made to a location within the US and NSA continues to monitor the call. If this turns out to be the basis for the “domestic spying” charges the New York Times is leveling, consider me unconvinced.

Democracy Expands in the Middle East

Ask someone who was around during VE or VJ day. They’ll remember what happened on those days. My Dad was only seven and he remembers. The Iraqi elections are as significant to our generation as the close of World War II was to the past generation, yet our nation seems ignorant of that fact. Fifteen million people, or 70 percent of the electorate, voted in a new Middle East democracy! While that fact has been reported (or even downplayed) the significance has yet to enter the national consciousness. One day it will; are you going to remember, then, the events of this week?