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The theory of the driverless automobile is based on at least three assumptions: 1. That computers are inherently perfect and never malfunction, 2. Electrical circuitry never degrades or corrodes, and 3. That technical engineers and designers never make mistakes. Personally, I believe we should re-examine all of those assumptions. A moving automobile is actually a lethal weapon, capable of causing death and destruction. If we are going to allow driverless automobiles, they should be clearly and conspicuously marked so that pedestrians, cyclists, and other motorists, can give them lots of space.

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> > > > > >> >> >> >> >> T HE F INAL T OAST ! They bombedTokyo 73 years ago. >> >> They once were among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States .. There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation’s history. The mere mention of their unit’s name, in those years, would bring tears to the eyes of grateful Americans. >> >> Now only four survive. >> After Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, with the United States reeling and wounded, something dramatic was needed to turn the war effort around. >> Even though there were no friendly airfields close enough toJapan for the United States to launch a retaliation, a daring plan was devised. Sixteen B-25s were modified so that they could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. This had never before been tried — sending such bi g, heavy bombers from a carrier. >> >> >> The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier. They would have to hit Japan and then hope to make it toChina for a safe landing. >> >> But on the day of the raid, the Japanese military caught wind of the plan. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety. >> And those men went anyway. >> >> They bombed Tokyo and then flew as far as they could. Four planes crash-landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three of the Raiders died. Eight more were captured; three were executed. >> Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it to Russia. >> >> >> >> >> >> The Doolittle Raiders sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And, no matter what it takes, we will win. >> Of the 80 Raiders, 62 survived the war. They were celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a motion picture based on the raid; “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,” starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, was a patriotic and emotional box-office hit, and the phrase became part of the national lexicon. In the movie-theater previews for the film, MGM proclaimed that it was presenting the story “with supreme pride.” >> >> >> Beginning in 1946, the surviving Raiders have held a reunion each April, to commemorate the mission. The reunion is in a different city each year. In 1959, the city of Tucson, Arizona, as a gesture of respect and gratitude, presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of 80 silver goblets. Each goblet was engraved with the name of a Raider. >> >> >> Every year, a wooden display case bearing all 80 goblets is transported to the reunion city. Each time a Raider passes away, his goblet is turned upside down in the case at the next reunion, as his old friends bear solemn witness. >> >> Also in the wooden case is a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Very Special cognac. The year is not happenstance: 1896 was when Jimmy Doolittle was born. >> >> There has always been a plan: When there are only two surviving Raiders, they would open the bottle, at last drink from it, and toast their comrades who preceded them in death. >> As 2013 began, there were five living Raiders; then, in February, Tom Griffin passed away at age 96. >> >> What a man he was. After bailing out of his plane over a mountainous Chinese forest after the Tokyo raid, he became ill with malaria, and almost died. When he recovered, he was sent to Europe to fly more combat missions. He was shot down, captured, and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of war camp. >> >> The selflessness of these men, the sheer guts … there was a passage in the Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Mr. Griffin that, on the surface, had nothing to do with the war, but that was emblematic of the depth of his sense of duty and devotion: >> “When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day. He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night, he washed and ironed her clothes. Then he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her death in 2005.” >> >> So now, out of the original 80, only four Raiders remain: Dick Cole (Doolittle’s co-pilot on the Tokyo raid), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher. All are in their 90s. They have decided that there are too few of them for the public reunions to continue. >> The events in Fort Walton Beach marked the end. It has come full circle; Florida’s nearby Eglin Field was where the Raiders trained in secrecy for the Tokyo mission. The town planned to do all it can to honor the men: a six-day celebration of their valor, including luncheons, a dinner and a parade. >> >> Do the men ever wonder if those of us for whom they helped save the country have tended to it in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice? They don’t talk about that, at least not around other people. But if you find yourself near Fort Walton Beachthis week, and if you should encounter any of the Raiders, you might want to offer them a word of thanks. I can tell you from first hand observation that they appreciate hearing that they are remembered. >> The men have decided that after this final public reunion they will wait until a later date — some time this year — to get together once more, informally and in absolute privacy. That is when they will open the bottle of brandy. The years are flowing by too swiftly now; they are not going to wait until there are only two of them. >> They will fill the four remaining upturned goblets. And raise them in a toast to those who are gone. >> >> Their 70th Anniversary Photo >> >> >> PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO EVERYONE >> IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, ESPECIALLY >> TO THOSE WHO WERE TOO YOUNG TO >> KNOW ABOUT THESE BRAVE HEROES. >> MAY GOD BLESS THEM! >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >

“Bottom line: what’s it going to cost?” That is the standard Republican response to any progressive proposal that would improve the lives of ordinary Americans. It is gospel for Republicans and it works. Flashing the dollar sign is as effective with conservatives as is the Cross with vampires. Spenders are evil, and all liberals are big spenders, right? Take the latest political cartoon by LISA which portrays liberalism as garbage. Republicans can now rely on a label to discredit liberals, not by the nature of any issue itself or even its cost, but merely for where its advocates are positioned on the political spectrum. So, let us ask: is the notion of a living wage simply garbage? Are family leave, universal healthcare, education access, immigration reform, a progressive tax code, government spending on infrastructure, rejecting the war culture (including the war on drugs) and so on; are all these initiatives garbage? If so, how would you label these typical Republican actions: voter suppression laws, women’s health restrictions, extreme gerrymandering, total obstruction of government functioning, blocking access to Medicaid, and on and on? And where Republicans call for jobs, jobs, jobs, without ever saying how; is that simply campaign garbage? Is there any expectation that LISA will lampoon those crowning achievements of republicanism?

George Will in his November 8, 2015, assessment of Bill O’Reilly’s new book about Ronald Reagan describes it as an “no facts tome”. This was quite a pleasant surprise: a right-wing ideologue criticizing another right-wing ideologue. What Will left out of his article, however, is that there are, indeed, plenty of verifiable facts out there which illustrate well the destructive force Ronald Reagan let loose on America.

Mark McLaughlin’s (October 31, 2015) clarification of what goes into the retailer’s cost of sales was very helpful to those who can’t understand why things bought at local brick and mortar stores cost more than the same goods bought online. The reason, it turns out (as taught in economics class) is called Time and Place Utility. This is the advantage supplied by the retailer that cannot be duplicated by any mail order house. You can have what you want at a PLACE that is convenient for you to get at the TIME you need it. In addition, the retailer actually subsidizes the mail order house by carrying in stock many items that you can examine (try it on, try it out) at the store before you risk an online purchase. So, buy local!

When Richard Nixon first ran for public office back in the late 50s, there was a Senator from Wisconsin whose House Un-American Activities Committee had pretty well convinced America that communism had permeated the United States government, and there was literally a commie under every bed. Nixon publicly accused his Democrat opponent, Helen Gahagan Douglas of being a secret communist sympathizer, and it got him elected. That strategy will not work these days as evidenced by the popularity of our leading socialist, Bernie Sanders. Republicans desperately need a new bogeyman, and it appears they have found one in the Black Lives Matter movement. They attempt to dilute the effectiveness of the BLM by proclaiming All Lives Matter. But that’s not scary enough, so Republicans have added another, more of visible apparition: the black Muslim, not an ordinary Muslim, but a BLACK one! Here’s how they cover it in a recent right wing blog: “We have been told that black lives matter and the implication is white lives don’t matter as much. This raises a terrible possibility: that if Clinton wins the presidency, her administration will proclaim Muslim lives matter”. So there is your new bogeyman. Look for it whenever you hear someone proclaim that all lives matter.

Anyone watching the recent Republican debate in Colorado would wonder if the United States had, indeed, experienced a recession greater than any since the Great Depression of the Thirties.

Your edition of September 14/21, 2015, carried in the bold head: “Can Hillary win over the left?” An appropriate alternative might be: “Can a leopard change its spots?” The question is crucial. Clinton must, absolutely must, find a way to win over the progressives ( you know, the people who elected Obama twice, but stayed home from the midterms and literally handed two elections over to the Republicans). Obama betrayed his base by campaigning from the left but governing from the right. Clinton does not own that base yet, and it is not because she isn’t a good debater and has the patience to let Republicans on the Benghazi committee make fools of themselves; and neither is it because she will get a lot of votes simply by virtue of being a woman, and a Clinton at that; nor is it because she vacuumed up so much campaign money so early in the race; nor because Debbie Wasserman Schultz desperately wants her to get the nomination. None of these factors will count. Clinton is what she is. She cannot change her past.

George Will (in his essay of October 25, 2015) should know better. He advises the Republicans to focus on the bloated criminal injustice system. Unfortunately, trying to get Republicans to do anything that improves the lives of that class of people would be like the proverbial herding of cats.

Republicans have developed some favorite words and phrases for this election cycle. For example, when Democrats mention the gross inequality of wealth and income, they are “attacking success”. For social programs that would give the 99% a better chance to compete in the global economy, Democrats are promising “handouts”. Okay. When someone suggests the billionaires (whose immense wealth was either inherited, à la Koch brothers, or skimmed off the stock market by hedge fund managers) should pay proportional taxes, does that constitute attacking success? And someone should explain to Mr. Christopher Mays (letters October 21, 2015) that a free college education is by no means a “handout”. It is an investment by society in what will amount to America’s most important asset in the future, which is an educated citizenry. On the other hand, Republicans’ favorite phrases are “grow the economy” and “create jobs”. This is particularly ironic because, since Ronald Reagan trashed the economy with his ill-advised tax cuts, not a single effort, not one, has been advanced by any Republican to do anything that would actually create a non-defense job or in any way grow the economy. On the contrary, the combination of Republican parsimony and obstructionism has made sure that nothing constructive will be done to create the non-defense jobs that would, indeed,
grow the economy.