Federal Employees Get Another Raise?

As reported in Government Executive on January 31^st, Bill Would Give Federal Employees a 3.2 Percent Pay Raise in 2018. The problem, as I see it is that this is an across-the-board pay raise, which means that every Federal Employee was eligible. Were it my choice, I would do a line-by-line raise or decline on pay raises simply because there are people who are greatly overpaid for the work that they do. The military would definitely be on the pay raise agenda because they cannot get paid enough for the work that they do! Retirees from military service should also be included in that raise column. I would not give members of Congress a raise because they don’t work as I think they should be. They take long holidays, work fewer days(probably fewer hours per day) and get great healthcare that the average Joe or Jane doesn’t get.

What is with everybody and their brothers being upset about the travel order recently issued by President Trump? If you read the order itself, it’s pretty clear what it does and what it isn’t. Not only is it none of the things that it’s been labelled, but it’s very near the exact same wording that previous Oval Office occupants have said, and put into Executive Orders. Myself, being the world class skeptic that I am, would have made it even more draconian where it applied to Islamic-controlled countries. My opinion is strongly against Islam and Muslims and the country can thank its lucky stars that a person that thinks like that didn’t get elected. The current President is a person that (a) thinks like a businessman, (b) does what he says he will and(c) will put America first in all dealings. That’s a refreshing slant to put on business and political thinking…one that’s been sorely missed for about eight years. It appears that, on top of losing the election big time, the Democrat party simply does not comprehend the way that Trump works because, as the saying goes, “it’s never been done like that…”.

A few words about the armed forces. Beef up all the services and make crystal-clear how combat is to be done. The present rules of engagement(ROE) are tilted in favor of the enemy, and that must be changed immediately. The ROE are resulting in the needless wounding and deaths of our young people in the military services. Although my combat experience is zero, it isn’t difficult to think that if people are trying to kill you that you want to kill them first…right? In order to hit them before they hit you, knowledge of the enemy is paramount, and that means intelligence has to be gathered. The joke is that “military intelligence” is an oxymoron, but it needn’t stay that way. We have drones in the air, and they can surveil a fairly wide area for hours if necessary. Speaking of drones, we have been successful in using them to take out bad guys. Without sitting in on the meetings where targets are selected, we depend on whatever news is either leaked or put out by the administration. The past months and years have seen a diminished assault on the enemy. Perhaps we will now institute a more aggressive assault on the enemy, and if necessary, be thorough in the elimination of that enemy.

Since I am retired Navy, it is my special interest, and there’s a particular flaw that I find in the current fleet inventory…it’s one of many, but that’s another story. This concerns the finding that, of all modern navies, the United States Navy is the ONLY one that does not have seaplanes or amphibians in the fleet. There are those instances where ONLY a seaplane or amphibian would do the job on time and correctly. On the opposing side are the Navy politicians who would rather do the right political thing instead of the right military thing…which is why we have submarines with missiles rather than jet-powered seaplanes. Way back in 1955, the Navy accepted a Martin seaplane, one of a long line of Martin seaplanes. This was the P6M Seamaster, a four-jet seaplane which was, at the time, faster than the B-47 that the Air Force wanted, and got. Not only that speed, but it could land and take off from water, which, of course, the B-47 could not. Martin, which has merged with Lockheed, probably still has the working plans for the P6M somewhere. Hey, incoming SecNav, are you listening?

Parting shot: Getting down to “ground level”…let’s talk about schools. Not high school or college, if your kid is in either of those they’re probably indoctrinated already. No, let’s look at the primary schools, from kindergarten to where they go to Junior High School or High School. This is where you have to capture the mind of the child and teach them the correct things about this country. You salute and pledge allegiance to the flag because this is your country’s symbol. You learn how the colonists, vastly outnumbered, defeated the-then finest military in the world…the British. You learn WHY we fought a war for independence, to determine the course of the nation. You SHOULD learn how to read and write(I favor going back to penmanship courses) appropriate for your grade level, or above.