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I'm a Navy Chaplain and Old Catholic Priest
January 26, 2012 · 23:59

Flip-Flops in Florida: Who was Before it Before they were Against it Before they said that They Weren’t? I Sure the Hell Don’t Know

We are done with debates for a month and not a moment too soon especially for Newt Gingrich who got his ass handed to him tonight. Unlike in South Carolina where Gingrich was the clear winner Newt seemed to be flat footed in his answers to questions posed by Wolf Blitzer and audience members and in his responses to Romney. Romney seemed much more comfortable attacking Newt tonight. However I think that he was hurt by Rick Santorum who I think won the debate.

Despite beating Gingrich Romney certainly did not help himself for the general election should he be the nominee. Newt’s campaign as well as all of his huge Mitt-stakes over the past month have taken their toll. Even Rupert Murdoch thinks that Romney’s tax issue alone could keep him from winning in November.  Romney is certainly a shrewd businessman and as he calls himself a “winner.”  However he comes across as both arrogant and unprincipled, a flip-flopper of the worst kind as does Gingrich.

These debates and the campaign since Iowa have been a bloodbath in which Romney and Gingrich have done everything that they can do the ensure that neither of them becomes President. These guys are doing the best that they can to destroy each other every hour of the day and then claim ignorance. I am amazed with the alacrity with which they misrepresented each other and themselves.

I know that people wear flip-flops on Florida’s beaches but these guys put the flip in flop.    Both were for it before they were against it before someone pointed out that they were for it and they had to defend being for what they are now against or really are for but can’t admit it and get the nomination.

I am really getting confused and I know it’s not just my Mad Cow causing this. I don’t think that either man actually believes a word that they that they say even before they denied that they believed it.  Both Gingrich and Romney came across as absolutely disingenuous and consumed with destroying each other on the way to getting the nomination.

In my opinion it was Rick Santorum that was the most effective debater tonight and was very impressive. He was much more impressive than either Romnich or Gingney and I think Santorum cleaned Romney’s clock. Unfortunately for him it is probably too little too late regarding the getting the nomination but anything is possible now. Ron Paul made some points but did not have the impact tonight as did Santorum. Santorum hurt Romney on “Romneycare” and taxation aligning himself with none other than Ronald Reagan on the upper bracket tax rates.  He was also the only candidate that spoke directly about the industrial base and the workers that were the Reagan Democrats and recognized that President Obama had made that point in the State of the Union.

While anything is possible in this race I think that it is pretty certain that Romney will now win Florida. I thought that Gingrich might steal it but he didn’t help himself at all tonight. He was way off his game and he needed to reprise what he did in South Carolina in order to win Florida.  He now has to work doubly hard to try to win this or run a close second.

However this race has show that nothing is what it was even four years ago. I think that it will drag on and that anti-Romney forces will ensure that it does. I think that all things being equal that Romney probably wins the nomination but like I have been saying since Iowa that he will be so damaged that he will not be able to win in November.  He may have the support of the GOP elites but he certainly is not winning the hearts of people that he will need to support him in November.

A recent poll said that 33% of Republicans wished that there was another candidate in the race. Likewise President Obama’s positive numbers which were dismal are going up even as Romney’s favorable ratings collapse. I say this only to show just how volatile the electorate is this year and how dissatisfied most Americans seem to be with the status quo and the people running for the nation’s highest office.

This is not like anything that I have ever seen. So many things can happen between now and next week when Florida votes and the the General Election on November 6th that could influence the election it boggles the mind. I know that my mind is boggled. I feel like I am watching the two Republican front-runners do their best to ensure that their party cannot win in November. What do you think?

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 25, 2012 · 23:46

How Padre Steve Survives the Election Year…and how You Can Too

“It’s such a beautiful sport, with no politics involved, no color, no class. Only as a youngster can you play and as a pro can you win. The game has kept me young, involved and excited and for me to be up here with gems of baseball.” Jack Buck

“I would change policy, bring back natural grass and nickel beer. Baseball is the belly-button of our society. Straighten out baseball, and you straighten out the rest of the world.” Bill “Spaceman” Lee 

Well my friends we have just 285 day until the 2012 General Elections to be held on 6 November we will again elect a President, the whole House of Representatives, one third of the Senate and an ass load of Governors, State and Local government officials.

Of course the big kahuna is the Presidential election.  This is the election that usually brings out the most people to vote. We Americans have priorities and electing a President is right up there with voting for the next American Idol.

The Presidential campaign is now in what we call the “Primary Season.” Can you say primary season?

I knew that you could, but I digress.

The Primary season is where the major political parties, those bastions of uncritical thought and ideological bastardization backed by unlimited monetary donations from the wonderful new super-hero called Super-PAC choose who they will nominate for the Presidency. It is an exciting process for of unexpected twists and turns. Well, let me not get too overboard here, most of the time they are boring and predictable once the New Hampshire primary is over, but not this year.

Thanks to the Citizens United decision the amount of political advertising will set records, especially the negative stuff that decides elections will air at all hours of the day will interrupt any television program at any time. Candidates will buy whole blocks of time to sell themselves and Super-PAC will aid them with powerful truth deflection shields and lie-ser beams.  It will be amazing and if you are like me you probably have had enough.

So what can we do?

Well here is what I am going to do.  In 24 days my television is going to be parked on the MLB Channel and any other channel I can get that has a baseball game or baseball show on.  That is when spring training starts and real life begins again.

Now that does not mean that I won’t stay in tune with what is happening in the world or in the elections.  I will because need to be informed so I be informative in a time of disinformation because I don’t want anyone to be dissed by information.

But to do this is stressful and sometimes the high toxic inflamed sphincter speech of the Unholy Trinity of Politicians, Pundits and Preachers gets to me.  Thank God that he created baseball and that there is a refuge for me from the 18th of February when pitchers and catchers report until if the World Series goes the full 7 games until the 1st of November. That means that I only have 29 days without this sure refuge. However there is enough about baseball between now and the official beginning of Spring Training and post series euphoria to limit my exposer to the toxic stew being brewed in the smoke filled rooms of the political campaigns.

Thank God for baseball.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 25, 2012 · 00:00

The Lost Art

“Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable … the art of the next best.” Otto von Bismarck

I did my yearly duty of enduring the State of the Union Address.  I have done this every year when not deployed, at sea or in the field since I was in college. I have learned over the years that regardless of who the President is or what party they belong does not make the watching of this speech any less of an ordeal.

Some Presidents were marvelous orators and others not.  Typically the rebuttal to any President’s State of the Union is always a critique of whatever the President said and why the opposition and its ideas or policies are better.  Thus when Presidents like Ronald Reagan, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and even President Obama use   lofty language and rhetoric it is hard for the opposition to sound like anything other than less than exciting.  Now this says nothing about the substance of the ideas or even the truth of what is being spoken by either side especially in an election year. Bismarck so adroitly put it “People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war, or before an election.” 

Call me a cynic but I guess I am now old enough to have see that the speeches really don’t matter that much unless the leaders of both parties are willing to work together for the good of the country.  There are policies and positions in both parties that I agree with and those that I disagree with. I don’t think either party has a lock on truth nor have the answers to all of the challenges that we face totally contained in their ideology or party platform.

The speech by President Obama was an excellent speech and the response by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was not bad. Again I am not going into specific details of what either said but rather the tone of both. There were differences and Daniels was pugnacious but not disrespectful and Daniels even found places of agreement with the President. Unfortunately that is rare among the rest of his party.

Maybe I have been in the military too long but some of the things done by leaders, elected leaders and pundits of both parties over the past 10 years since George W Bush was elected turn my stomach. I want the country to do well and for whoever the President is at the time to meet with success.  I may not support all of their agenda but they have the job of President and I don’t.  I believe in the teamwork embodied by the military and particularly that of SEAL Team 6 and the supporting units who killed Osama Bin Laden that the President emphasized so well.

When Nancy Pelosi said of President Bush “Why should we put a plan out? Our plan is to stop him. He must be stopped” I was appalled. When Mitch McConnell said that “the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president” I was equally appalled. That is no way to help the country.

Otto Von Bismarck was was quite the pragmatist. He understood that there is an art to politics. Ronald Reagan understood the same and was able to work with the opposition as much as he could get of his agenda passed and make deals including raising taxes to get it done. Unfortunately the Unholy Trinity of Politicians Pundits and Preachers on both sides of the political chasm have somehow come to the conclusion that it is a winner take it all game.  I’m glad that President Obama and Governor Daniels despite their differences did not use tonight to demonize their opponents. Maybe that is a start.

Of course this is an election year and the country is bitterly divided. We have practically been at war with each other for at least that long, probably longer. I just hope that somehow we as a people can rally around the country and whatever our politics not forget that we are all Americans and are in this boat together.  As Abraham Lincoln said in his second inaugural address at the close of the Civil War:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” 

Peace

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January 23, 2012 · 23:59

Iraq Commitment Medal

The US Military campaign in Iraq ended at the end of 2011 and in a ceremony marking that the Iraqi government authorized the United States and other coalition partners to award a medal on their behalf to soldiers that served in Iraq. The award still has to be approved for wear by the United States but I cannot imagine that such approval will not be given. Too many thousands of Americans have been killed our wounded in the war not for it to be awarded. The price has been paid in blood and the cost is born in the minds, bodies and spirits of those that served and survived and in the lives of those who have lost loved ones during the war.

The medal called the Government of Iraq Commitment Medal is similar in character to those issued by other countries to American service members that served in their countries. Such awards have been made by the Philippines, South Korea, South Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The announcement of the award was made in a ceremony attended by Vice President Biden on 1 December 2011in Bagdad.  http://www.sather.afcent.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123281953

The letter from the Iraqi Minister of Defense is shown below.

Now to some this award is insignificant and with Iraq’s government in disarray some will mock it. But to many if not most of us that served in Iraq it will be a small thank you and remembrance of our service there. If Iraq can navigate the future successfully and overcome its own divisions perhaps those of us that served will be able to go back as visitors and maybe like those that served in the Second World War be able to help heal the wounds of war alongside the Iraqis that we served alongside, trained and advised.

“Description – The Commitment Medal is a gold-colored medal with enamel, 1 9/16 in diameter. On the front the relief of Iraq represents the area of operation. The lines symbolize the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, recalling Iraq’s title as “the land of two rivers.” The two hands superimposed over the relief symbolize the friendship between Iraq and her coalition allies. The star at the center top represents a vision of unity for the seven peoples of Iraq (Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Turkoman, Assyrian, Yazidi, Armenian) leading to a more secure, prosperous and free future for Iraqis. The inscription in both Arabic and English merge into a continuous circle symbolizing the closeness of Iraq and her allies.
On the reverse side the rayed disc symbolizes the sun, optimism and Iraq’s future of reconstruction and the establishment of the democratic way of life. The relief of Iraq represents the area of operation. The lines symbolize the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, recalling Iraq’s title as “the land of two rivers.” The crossed scimitars recall the partnership between Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces essential to bringing a democratic way of life to Iraq. Gold is emblematic of honor and high achievement. It states JOINT COMMITMENT in both Arabic and English symbolizing the unity of effort between Iraq and her Coalition Partners. The palm trees along with the palm fronds on the front represent the sacrifices made by the Coalition Partners.”

Americans and Iraqis alike have sacrificed and suffered during this war. I hope that this medal will come to symbolize an effort that was not in vain.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 22, 2012 · 22:14

The Death of a Tarnished Legend: Joe Paterno dead at 85

Legendary Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno died this morning of complications of Lung Cancer in State College Pennsylvania.

He was college football’s winningest coach and led his teams to 409 wins. In 46 years at Penn State he built a football program that won two National Championships and came close on a number of other occasions. The program was built around the concept of winning with honor. Paterno said “Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good”

For years it seemed that Penn State football was just that, a program that stood out among elite teams because of the lack of scandal. But that was before the revelations about former Penn State Assistant Coach and Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of young boys and the cover up of the scandal by the school. When the news of Sandusky’s arrest upon the release of the Grand Jury report it sent the university and much of the nation into shock and brought forth anger, much directed at Paterno for his apparent inaction when he learned of an 2002 incident in the locker room showers from Mike McQueary then a graduate assistant. The fact that allegations had been made and reported to the police in 1998 and went back to 1994 did not help.

Paterno refused to resign and the University trustees fired him along with the President of the University Graham Spanier.  The firing was done late at night and with a phone call, it should have been done in person but the university which refused to do anything to stop Sandusky was willing to unceremoniously dump Paterno.

From Paterno’s statements it seems that he really had no understanding of the gravity or the significance of the allegations. He said after the allegations came to light that “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”  He told the Washington Post in an interview just 9 days before his death that although Mike McQueary was not specific that had he been specific that “to be frank with you I don’t know that it would have done any good, because I never heard of, of, rape and a man. So I just did what I thought was best. I talked to people that I thought would be, if there was a problem, that would be following up on it.”

In the end maybe he was simply out of touch with the real world. Insulated in State College and consumed with football, it was his life. He said in 2004 “There isn’t anything in my life anymore except my family and my football. I think about it all the time.”

He will be remembered as one of the great, of not the greatest coach in the history of college football.  However that accomplishment in now obscured by the allegations against Jerry Sandusky and his inaction during the time. We probably will not know all that he knew or did not know about the incidents involving Sandusky.  On the surface one can imagine that he knew more than has been admitted and I believe that is probably the case.  At the same time he may have just been a man out of time who should have retired years ago.

Despite this he will be remembered fondly and with great respect by many of his players as well as the Penn State community. I would imagine that he died as much from a broken heart and spirit as he did lung cancer.  The fact that he was fired, shunned and blamed for the debacle that has destroyed program that was his life’s work had to be a part of his decline.  I imagine that the disgrace that he felt was more than he could bear.

Rest in peace JoePa, rest in peace.

Padre Steve+

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January 21, 2012 · 23:59

The Newtron Bomb Blasts Romney

The Newtron bomb exploded and irradiated the long presumed GOP nominee Mitt Romney and sent the Republican establishment into shock. Gingrich was left for dead after New Hampshire and Iowa after being savaged by Romney backed Super-PACs. Instead after hard hitting campaign ads attacking Romney and two strong debate performances he won the South Carolina Republican primary. It was stunning. Last Saturday Romney’s Super-PAC released an ad that boldly proclaimed “On Saturday, South Carolina picks a President.” If it did it wasn’t Romney.

Hubris

He was aided by Romney’s hubris and inability to answer questions about his income, his taxes and his career at Bain Capital without looking like an entitled and out of touch rich politician. Romney’s post primary debate made him look worse. He tried to still project the image of the front-runner and standard bearer that can beat Barak Obama.  Romney basically said that for  anyone to criticize him or his personal success was to be against success and capitalism. His speech seemed devoid of understanding that the combination of his own communicative ineptitude and Gingrich’s appeal to raw populism have damaged him. Likewise his inability to be magnanimous in defeat to either Gingrich or Santorum after their wins in Iowa and South Carolina make him even less attractive to much of the electorate. Otto Von Bismarck said that the “three signs of great men are generosity in the design, humanity in the execution, moderation in success.”  Well that does not describe what many feel about Mitt Romney after South Carolina.

Romney spent more money in the state than any other candidate, had the support of Tea Party backed Governor Nikki Haley and other key South Carolina Republicans including Senator Jim DeMint.

Gingrich won 40% of the vote in South Carolina and won nearly every demographic. The allegations of his second wife Marianne about his infidelity and desire for an “open marriage” had little if no effect on an electorate dominated by Evangelical Christians. The only significant demographic to go for Romney was that of people that made over $200,000 a year.  (see Fox News Exit Poll http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2012/south-carolina-primary-jan-21/exit-polls )

The turnout was significant, nearly a third more people voted in the primary than in 2008. I attribute this to the activism of the Tea Party as well as Ron Paul’s campaign, both of which pack significant energy. Paul finished 4th tonight but had far more of the electorate than he had in 2008.

Gingrich is not well liked. His negatives are incredible but he can fight and with the money that is now coming in to support his Super-PAC he is going to make Florida a real race unless he does something to implode.  This is a big reason that Rick Santorum will remain in the race.

Florida will be important. I do think that Gingrich will make it close and maybe even win.  I think that he wins the Tea Party faction and will make a good run at the Cuban vote. If Gingrich wins big it could send party elites into a panic.  To them Newt is the Neutron Bomb, he is radioactive and and dangerous.  They do not want him as their nominee and they will do whatever they can to stop his momentum.

But even if Romney can right the ship in Florida the fact is that this race will continue to go on into the spring and that bodes ill for him. I think that this will be difficult. Florida has hit the skids economically and that impacts Republican voters as much as it does others and a Romney that seems to be out of touch and flouting his wealth will not go over well with In South Carolina a third of Gingrich supporters polled say that they will not support Romney if he becomes the nominee and the figure among Paul supporters is higher.  Mark my words, Tea Party and Ron Paul activists will not go all in for Romney if he is the nominee.

Right now as unimaginable as it would have ever been Romney is in real danger and he does not seem to be fully aware of it.  Like Captain Schettino of the Costa Concordia he and his campaign are too close to running aground and still seem to believe that no matter what they will be the nominee. South Carolina shows that his electability is in question. Why would the Tea Party and Libertarian factions want Romney in office for 8 years should he be the nominee and win against President Obama?

These candidates do not like each other and the loathing of Gingrich for Romney and Romney for Gingrich is palpable. The campaign will be dirty and unsurpassed in nastiness.

This will be a fascinating race to watch and may be historic in terms of its effect on the conservative movement and the Republican Party.

How Romney and the GOP elites must be feeling about South Carolina 

It will be fun to watch if nothing else.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 20, 2012 · 23:59

Salvaging the Costa Concordia: An Immense and Potentially Impossible Task

The wreck of the giant cruise liner Costa Concordia could be in danger of sinking deeper into the sea off of Giglio Island or even breaking up.  As of the moment the Italian authorities are still calling the operation a rescue operation but that could change to a salvage operation in the coming days.

The Salvaged Seawise Giant

Provided that the wreck stays intact and does not sink in deeper water the chance of salvaging the ship will be immense. It will not be an easy task.  Only one ship larger than Concordia has been salvaged, the massive oil tanker Seawise Giant which was sunk in very shallow water off of Kharg Island Iran during the Iran-Iraq war.  That ship was only salvageable because she was intact and in the placid shallow waters of the Persian Gulf.

Wreck of the ex SS Normandie

The other ships successfully salvaged and returned to service were the US Navy Battleships USS West Virginia and USS California which were sunk at Pearl Harbor.  Both ships had settled upright in the shallow and calm waters of Pearl Harbor.  The battleship Oklahoma which capsized was refloated but never returned to service.  Other large ships have been salvaged but not returned to service, the great French liner Normandie which burned and sank pier side in New York Harbor was raised but the damage caused by the fire made her not economical to put repair and put back into service.  The battleships and battle cruisers of the German High Seas Fleet were salvaged over a period of nearly 20 years following the “Great Scuttle” following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in a remarkable operation at Scapa Flow.  Many were difficult to salvage and although all were scrapped  the fact that they were raised was engineering triumph.

Raising the USS Oklahoma

One thing that works against a successful salvage operation is the fact that she is on her side and perched atop a number of rocks fully exposed to wind and waves.  Ships, especially merchant ships which are more lightly built than the great battleships do not tend to hold up well when in such a position.  They tend to get battered and break up due to the great stress put on their hulls which they were not designed to endure.

Drawings of High Seas Fleet wrecks at Scapa Flow

Those trying to save the Costa Concordia will first need to ensure that she does not sink into deeper water or break up. If they can do that they will then need to remove her fuel and other hazardous materials.  Once that is completed the massive gash in the hull will need to be repaired and and the hull checked for other damage.  Then she will have to be successfully righted and pumped out. This will not be easy, every step will have to be carefully done to ensure that they salvers do not want her to sink again.  Working against them will be the forces of nature, wind, tides and waves.  These factors will complicate any salvage efforts and it is entirely possible that the wreck will need to be scrapped in place.

The immediate concern is the search for survivors and next the avoidance of an environmental disaster should the ships diesel fuel leak into the ocean and preventing the ship from sinking into deeper water or breaking up. Only then will it be possible to begin salvage operations.  From a technical perspective it is interesting to think about just how the massive ship will be raised.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 19, 2012 · 23:57

Republican Versus Republican: The South Carolina Showdown

 

Charleston Debate (CNN Photo)

The Republican campaign for the nomination is getting nasty.  These men do not like each other and for one man in particular, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich the battle is personal. Campaign ads, particularly those run by the various Super-PACS have been brutal on all sides because they have all mixed truth and fiction and quite often impugned the character of their opponents in addition to attacking policy differences.

The fact that our political climate is so volatile and filled with passion and emotion mean that the campaign will become filled with even more vitriol.  This week two more Republicans dropped out of the race after pledging in New Hampshire to see it through. John Huntsman dropped out followed unexpectedly today by Texas Governor by Rick Perry.  Neither had the support to do much in South Carolina nor the finances to go on. Huntsman endorsed Romney while Perry, Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin have  all endorsed Gingrich which was probably more important.

Perry saw the writing on the wall when a sizable number of Evangelicals and conservative Catholics through their support behind for Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum who was certified as the winner of the Iowa Caucus after Governor Romney and the media declared Romney the winner.  Romney “won” by 8 votes with a total number less than he received in the same state in 2008.  However when Santorum was certified as the winner by 34 votes Republican Party officials in the state called it a draw with no clear winner.  So if Romney wins by 8 votes it is a “win” but if Santorum wins by 34 votes it is a “tie.”  Romney called his wins “historic” history has been revised.  I thought that Romney made a huge mistake when he made the claim and now he looks foolish for doing so.

Since New Hampshire the three factions of the Republican Party have fractured. Romney was anointed by the party elite as the “one that could beat Obama.” However after New Hampshire the fissures in the party between the Republican establishment represented by Romney, social conservatives championed by Gingrich and Santorum and Libertarians led by Ron Paul have opened wide. All claim that getting rid of Obama is the main priority but their personal dislike of the candidates for one another and their sometimes competing agendas have led to a deepening divide in the party.

Gingrich seems to have survived comments by his second wife regarding their divorce and his alleged desire to remain married by have an “open marriage” with the support of major hitters like Rush Limbaugh.  When asked about it by debate moderator John King Gingrich blasted King and attacked the media in an incredibly effective manner that ended the line of questioning.  Gingrich knew that the question would be asked and clobbered it like a power hitter slamming a hanging curve ball.

Romney didn’t make any great mistakes in the debate tonight but he muffed the question of releasing his tax returns in Monday’s debate on Fox News and tonight’s on CNN. He seems be unable to connect with people that don’t believe that over $300,000 in speaking fees is “not very much money.” It seems to me that he cannot connect with the populist parts of the Republican Party represented by the Tea Party. He is portrayed as a flip-flopper by conservatives and believe me there are many Evangelicals and others that will not support him or only give lukewarm support should he become the nominee because he is Mormon.  Frankly their trust of him deserved or not is only slightly better than the distrust that they have for President Obama.

I believe that Gingrich will win South Carolina and that both Santorum and Ron Paul will do better than expected. Santorum actually in my view handled the debate better and challenged Gingrich and Romney in ways that were effective and that I did not think him capable of sustaining. He could surprise especially with the endorsement of major Evangelicals but he is not a southerner and that counts for something in South Carolina.

From South Carolina the campaign goes to Florida and could continue throughout the spring as the factions of the party go all in for their candidates. It shall be interesting.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 18, 2012 · 23:57

The Costa Concordia Disaster Compared with Other Maritime Tragedies

The story of the sinking of the RMS Titanic with the loss of nearly 1500 souls mesmerizes those that imagine the worst disasters involving cruise liners or other passenger vessels.  Conveyed by motion pictures the story reaches into the hearts of people, especially romantics and maritime enthusiasts a century after her demise.  The story is legend. The largest ship then in existence, called “unsinkable” she was the symbol of pre-World War One hubris. The arrogance of her owners, the hubris of her Captain and the storied passenger list which included some of the wealthiest and most famous people of her time lend themselves to a romantic tragedy at sea brought to us by Hollywood.

RMS Titanic

However as great of tragedy as was the Titanic disaster the great liner was neither the largest passenger vessel to sink nor the most souls lost at sea. The Costa Concordia now has the dubious distinction of being the largest passenger vessel to ever sink but comes in very low on the scale for number of fatalities.

SS Sultana disaster

The ships with the greatest number of lives lost came in much more obscure disasters.  The greatest loss of life on a passenger vessel during peacetime was the SS Sultana, a side-wheel steamer returning Union Soldiers home following the end of the Civil War. Grossly overcrowded, the ship which was designed to carry under 400 passengers had nearly 2400 souls aboard when one of her boilers exploded causing a fire which consumed the ship. Only 741 people were rescued.

Yet as bad as this tragedy was the worst disaster in maritime history occurred near the end of the Second World War when the SS Wilhelm Gustlaff, a 26,000 ton 684 former cruise liner in the service of the German Navy was torpedoed by the Soviet Submarine S-13 on the night of 30 January 1945. Over 9000 souls, the vast majority civilians or military dependents fleeing the Red Army went down with the ship.  Another great ship, the 38,000 ton RMS Lusitania was sunk by the German U-boat U-20 on May 7th 1915 with the loss of 1198 lives including 128 Americans.

RMS Lusitania (above) and MV Dona Paz (below)

The MV Dona Paz, a ferry with Sulpicio Lines in the Philippines collided with the tanker MT Vector on 27 December 1987 with a loss of over 4000 souls. Called the “Asian Titanic” it was one the worst maritime disasters of modern times.

HMHS Britannic

Titanic’s sister the RMS Britannic was serving as a hospital ship in the First World War when she struck a mine in the Aegean Sea sinking in 55 minutes with the loss of only 30 of over 1100 souls aboard.

Andrea Doria sinking off of New York-New Jersey

Another well known wreck was that of the beautiful Italian liner Andrea Doria which collided with the MV Stockholm and sank on July 26th 1956 with the loss of 46 passengers. The sinking was one of the most memorable of all time because of how it was filmed and the heroism of her Captain who unlike Captain Schettino of the Concordia did not leave the ship until he was sure that all passengers and crew were off  and was willing to go down with the ship.

RMS Queen Elizabeth

Yet the largest liners ever sunk were two of the most glorious of their era the RMS Queen Elizabeth and the French SS Normandie.  Both sank under different names and both were due to fires while in port. The the 83,673 ton Queen Elizabeth was retired from the Cunard Line in the late 1960s and taken to Hong Kong where she was renamed SS Seawise University and burned and sank in Hong Kong harbor on 9 January 1972.

The 83,423 ton SS Normandie, one of the most beautiful ships ever to grace the sea and was the first ship of over 1000 feet long. She was taken over by the US Navy after the French surrender to the Germans. She was renamed was renamed USS Lafayette and while undergoing conversion to a troopship in New York on burned and capsized on the 9-10 February 1942.

SS Normandie/USS Lafayette sunk 

Costa Concordia now lies a few hundred yards off Giglio Island and could either break up or sink into deeper water before she can be salvaged.

All of these events were tragic in their own way be they in war or peace.  Some claimed vast numbers of lives while others resulted in the loss of the most significant ships of their day.  The Costa Concordia is the largest liner ever to go down and things being what they are may not be the last.  Her loss was avoidable by all accounts and hopefully will result in owners, captains and governments doing more to ensure the safety of all that sail the high seas.

For those in peril on the sea….

Peace

Padre Steve+

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January 18, 2012 · 00:05

Sinking the Costa Concordia: A Lesson in Hubris and Cowardice

“You go up that ladder and get on board the ship. You go on board and you then tell me how many people there are. Is this clear? I am recording this conversation, Commander Schettino.” Commander Di Falco, coastguard

Captain Francesco Schettino acted with hubris and demonstrated cowardice in the sinking of his ship the Costa Concordia.  He has denied taking his ship the massive 114,500 ton Costa Concordia too close to to the island of Giglio but evidence is showing that this is a bold faced lie.  From the what we know now the ship passed too close to a rocky outcropping under 300 meters from the main island but much closer to a smaller rocky island just offshore. The ship based on its AIS tracking system was sailing at about 15.3 knots when she struck the rock on her port quarter at 2137 local time.

Captain Francesco Schettino

Damage was massive and within moments of impact the ship suffered a power outage but evidently still had some power and Schettino or one of his officers attempted to turn the ship toward Giglio harbor, presumably to get her into shallow water so she would not go down in deep water.  Investigators have found the exact point of impact with the rocks off the Le Scole Shoal (42° 21′ 20″ N, 10° 55′ 50″ E)

See map  http://toolserver.org/~geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Costa_Concordia_disaster&params=42_21_20_N_10_55_50_E_ )

If you look at the track charts and diagrams it is easy to see how short of distance the ill fated liner travelled before sinking. She struck the rocks and turned slightly to starboard as she rapidly listed 20 degrees to port. The track shows that Casta Concordia slowed and turned rapidly to port (left) and slowed to a near standstill in the space of about 1000 meters as she lost power as Captain Schettino attempted to get her closer inshore.

The visible damage shows a massive gash of about 150 feet in her port side beginning just aft of midships to her port quarter.  The extent of the damage indicated that her double bottom was pierced and that numerous watertight compartments were breached including her main engineering spaces. The power failure experienced by the ship was most likely due to the flooding in the engineering spaces which powered its electrical generators.

The damage itself was catastrophic and probably mortal, but when she turned to sharply to port she heeled back to starboard as the ship’s center of gravity shift and water in the flooded compartments shifted to starboard.  At 2145 the Chief Engineer informed the captain that the breach could not be repaired and was impossible to manage. Schettino should have ordered the ship abandoned at that moment but waited until 2258 to sound the alarm.   The rapidity with which the ship heeled to starboard could have also been affected by winds and the ship’s proximity to shore.  It is also possible that the very design of such large ships can make them vulnerable to such damage in that with such high superstructures they could be more prone to instability when flooding rapidly.

Concordia rolled over on her starboard side on the rocks off of Point del Lazzaretto eventually settling to the bottom at an 80 degree list. 11 people are known to have died and many more are still missing with hope fading for their rescue.

The situation is made worse by the actions of the Captain of the Concordia, Captain Schettino.  First based on the evidence of previous sailings that this is not the first time that Schettino took the ship close inshore. Apparently he did this to allow show off the ship to the relatives of the Maitre d’hotel of the ship to see the ship pass close to the island. Another report said that Schettino called a former commander now retired who lives on Giglio to let him know that he was coming close to the island.  The fact is that taking a ship the size of Costa Concordia so close to a rocky shore at night for the purpose of showing off is reckless endangerment and an act of hubris.

The second concern is the fact that Schettino abandoned ship and despite repeated orders from a Italian Coast Guard officer to return to the ship did not and that junior officers on their own initiative began to evacuate the ship well before Schettino gave the official order to abandon.

see transcript of the exchange between Schettino and the Coast Guard Officer here http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16150968

After his rescue Schettino claimed that the rock was uncharted and that he was farther out to sea than he actually was.  The fact that Schettino and his First Officer abandoned ship while hundreds of not thousands of passengers were still in danger and refused orders to return to the ship shows cowardice.

The will be more on this but Captain Schettino bears the ultimate responsibility for what happened to his ship and the loss of life.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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