5 Responses to:
“PlaneMadness Episode 37”

1. snabby, on August 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm Said:

   Glad to see you back, and I appreciate all the content, aviation and otherwise.

   But what’s with the gratuitous Obama trashing? No substance there. I’m not a huge supporter, but I can tell you McCain would be a total disaster.

   In any case, is this a Republican-lovers-only podcast? I’ll be happy to say goodbye if so.

2. Capt'n Chris, on August 18th, 2008 at 9:55 pm Said:

   That statement really wasn’t about Obama, it was about the media.

   They could have been covering the Geico Gecko for the last 6 months, and I’d have said the same thing.

   As far as party allegiances are concerned, personally, I vote for the individual… So I’d be interested to hear why you think McCain would be a ‘total disaster’ if only so I could hopefully learn something new, about one of the candidates?

   Either way, thanks for your feedback
   Capt’n Chris

3. snabby, on August 19th, 2008 at 2:56 am Said:

   Fair enough, and I appreciate it. BTW, those backscatter things are creepy. I remember when they were introduced as an experiment (I thought.)

   I’ve got mixed feelings about them. No one has a right to fly, of course, and given that they use it when they have cause to (meaning undetected metal, and not a beautiful woman ) I don’t see a real violation of the 4th amendment. But as you point out in the podcast, it’s kind of creepy to have some dude checking out the images as they come through, and I seriously doubt they would actually have tecnhology to mask the dangly bits and such. No great answers — the problem with living in a free country is that it’s messy.

   As to McCain, one of the major reasons I think he’d be a disaster is that he does not appear to have a grasp of some major issues (for instance, his recent confusion on Sunni vs. Shia.) And if that’s temporary confusion, not a lack of knowledge, that’s of no comfort. We need a president who has a clear head.

   The recent revelations that his top foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann, has been as recently as this Spring a paid lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia, is very, very troubling. And he is a board member of PNAC, the neo-con group that did so much to get us into Iraq. (Just a bit about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Scheunemann.)

   It’s far from clear to me that what happened between Georgia and Russia can be laid solely at Russia’s feet, and it’s terribly concerning that our government, and people advising Senator McCain, may have been involved in this conflict. We need to be clear of stuff like this. It feels like Ahmed Chalabi again.

   None of this is to say I think Obama is so great. He seems like a moderate and a pragmatist. He was far from my first choice, but I think he could do a lot to repair our country’s damaged reputation in a way that McCain cannot.

   Again, thanks for the response, and running this site and the podcast, which are clearly such labors of love.

4. Capt'n Chris, on August 19th, 2008 at 7:58 am Said:

   Snabby,

   You’re either a well informed citizen or, perhaps, you might have a political science degree(s), and/or work in a related field as such, etc..? That would be my guess, as you seem to have a better grasp on things of a political nature then the average citizen I meet.

   Your comments on Randy Scheunemann have raised some red flags and I did read the wiki article on him; although I want to find some other sources of information now.

   As for Obama repairing our nation’s reputation in a way that McCain couldn’t, I think you’re right about that- And it’s something sorely needed in my opinion. With regard to your comment about McCain “he does not appear to have a grasp of some major issues” I would tend to think that a senior person of his background would have more experience then a junior senator, although specifically comparing the two on this level is something I’ve yet to do; I did however view Rick Warren’s forum the other night and quite honestly, I came away thinking McCain’s life experience out-shined Obama’s.

   The battle for the Presidency is far from over and I think it will be interesting to see and hear what additionally comes out about both candidates in the coming weeks.

   Best-
   Capt’n Chris

5. snabby, on August 20th, 2008 at 12:17 pm Said:

   Cap’n Chris,

   I’m just a political junky, and also someone who is worried about where we are heading.

   I agree that the battle is far from over. I just hope this year they really stick to the issues, and stop with the negative campaigning. Unfortunately for all of us, the negative stuff is effective. But we need, for the best outcomes, to really understand how each candidate would govern. Since neither really has executive experience, that’s even more important.

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