The Captain Owen Honors/USS Enterprise video scandal managed to capture my attention. During his time as XO of the Enterprise, Honors made some raunchy videos to entertain the sailors on board. Today he has been relieved of command.
A high-ranking Navy officer who produced and showed raunchy videos to the crew of an aircraft carrier three or four years ago is expected to be relieved of his command of the ship, defense officials said Tuesday.
A senior defense official said the announcement on Capt. Owen Honors of the USS Enterprise was expected Tuesday afternoon. The officials said the Navy has chosen a commander to replace Honors on the nuclear-powered ship that is currently stationed in Norfolk and scheduled to deploy to the Middle East this month.
Anyone who posses even a passing familiarity with this blog knows I maintain an abiding respect for those who serve in the military. I have great disdain for the war of choice we started in Iraq, and it seems by all outward appearances that Afghanistan has simply come off the rails. But there is a difference between disapproving of the war(s), and disapproving of those who serve their country in the thick of them. They are certainly far braver than I, and their service is worthy of honor.
You probably also already know that I worked closely with several active duty military officers during my time at the Drug Czar's office (under General McCaffrey). Looking back on the mid- to late-90s, I have a very, very difficult time imagining any of my military co-workers from that time doing anything as stupid as what Owens did.
This is really not rocket science. If you ran an organization or company of six thousand people, would you think it a wise business move to make raunchy videos and show your employees? Of course not. Indeed, the military is quite different than a business, but there are underlying principles that remain the same. And Owens should have known better.
I even understand that as the XO he was in charge of morale, that militarized life aboard what amounts to a floating city is very different from our everyday working experiences, and that the young men and women under his command were under a great deal of stress every day. He had a tall order to fill generally, and certainly with respect to morale.
None of that is excuse enough, or even comes close.
The gay slurs seem especially out of touch with reality, given the long-awaited repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- it's more than just tone-deaf, more than just careless.
My disappointment comes in expecting much, much better from my Armed Forces. The amount of money that goes to the "defense" of this nation is so astounding, especially in a difficult fiscal environment, that I don't think it's too much to maintain high standards for those who serve. As I think we all should. This behavior certainly did not meet those standards.
As with many aspects of American society, so too is the United States military undergoing dramatic social change. All the more reason to peek outside the bubble of the Enterprise and the United States Navy to take stock of the nation and the world. If only to perhaps read up on a little history...
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For my friends in Gulfport: Chief Robert Vincent, the Gulfport Chief of Police, has a blog, here -- and it's pretty good. His latest post is about pensions, which are going to be a tough issue all over the state.
Check it out and see what you think.
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I'm not sure if this is a trend yet, but there's another "sports" figure critical of Obama out today. And I have a couple of questions here before I make any defense of Obama: Does anyone really care what a sports professional has to say about public policy and the leadership of America? Is anyone else uncomfortable with this melding of worlds? It's like when I was a kid and I'd play G.I. Joe, but in a strange dimensional crossover sometimes introduce Star Wars characters to the mix. Um, yeah, when I was a kid...
What's more, does anyone know or care who Jacob Volkmann is? Well, me either. But he is an ultimate fighter, which is essentially a boxing for dummies kind of deal.
Said Volkmann, whom I can only assume was headed towards his local Mensa meeting at the time, of who he wanted to fight next:
"Actually, Obama. He's not too bright. Someone's gotta knock some sense into that idiot."
Actually, Dr. Volkmann (he is a chiropractor! This is true!), the one who is going to feel like an idiot is you after you get a visit from the United States Secret Service. It'll be unpleasant. Think of it as a kind of verbal knee to the face and a poke in the eye.
This comes on the heels of an earlier interview with Baltimore Oriole and resident Camden Yards brainiac Luke Scott. Scott came out full birther to the Yahoo! Sports Answer Man:
"[Obama] was not born here," Scott asserted to Answer Man in the session's last segment. "That's my belief. I was born here. If someone accuses me of not being born here, I can go — within 10 minutes — to my filing cabinet and I can pick up my real birth certificate and I can go, 'See? Look! Here it is. Here it is.' The man has dodged everything. He dodges questions, he doesn't answer anything."
In fairness to the Answer Man, and to his great credit, he provided a copy of Obama's birth certificate within the article.
The tired birther deal is troubling enough, but the De Leon Springs native, .269 career hitter, and Oriole's MVP for 2010 couldn't help but continue the rant (in between an awful lot of uncomfortable talk about guns and Ted Nugent; ugh):
QUESTION: So how's Obama doing?
LUKE SCOTT: Obama ... hmm ... Obama does not represent America. Nor does he represent anything what our forefathers stood for. This country is basically built on an attitude. It's a way of life. It's not because you're born here. It's not that you're supposed to take from those who have and give to those who haven't. That kills a country. It killed Russia.
The bold is mine, because I wanted you to see how this starts. Obama does not represent America. That is quite a statement, Luke, with an awful lot of dangerous implications. You're already in foul territory. You sure you want to keep going?
He does, he does:
I have friends of mine who are in the ministry who [work] in churches in Russia. If they can describe [the country] in one [phrase], it's "messed up beyond repair."
That's what communism does. Cuba, Venezuela. People are trying to escape these lands like a plague. What would make a human being swim 90 miles in shark-infested waters on a raft made of tires and planks? To leave their culture, their family, their language, their way of life. Everything they've ever known. What would make someone do that?
You don't see people in America doing that. There's no one here in America swimming the Pacific Ocean — or the Atlantic, or the Caribbean — to leave this place. The reason why is because of the freedom. Freedom for a man to mark out his own destiny. It's not, "Hey, you have so much." Hey, that person worked for that. That's not to be taken and given to someone who didn't put in the time, the effort, and do his part.
Obama, he doesn't represent that. He represents, "Hey, everyone. Give me votes and I'll give you stuff." And there's even people on TV who [are asked], "Hey, who you voting for?"
"I'm voting for Obama."
"Why?"
"So I can get more free stuff."
This, if you're wondering, is where Luke's reasoning goes off the cliff. Kind of hard to keep reading, but why not try?
That's not what makes this country great. That's what tears down a people, tears down nations. Hence, the problem we're having in this country, where we're experiencing unemployment. We're experiencing all of these negative things that are happening in our land as a direct result of that type of attitude — of too much government involvement, of moral decay, and of people lacking honor and integrity.
Eighty years ago, 50 years ago, a man would walk up to another man and go in for loan. He'd extend his hand, he'd shake it and he'd look at the man and he'd say, "I'll pay this back." He would do it. You couldn't even ... to even mention that [scenario] today ... is that a cartoon fantasy? That's how far we are removed.
If any of that makes any sense to you, I urge you to leave your interpretation in the comments. Is he saying that elections tear people down? Is he suggestion Obama bribed people for votes? This seems to be exactly what he is saying.
The problem is, the guy is not a regular on the This Week roundtable. He doesn't have an opinion column in the Washington Post. He's not writing policy papers at Brookings.
He's a slightly better than average baseball player for a team that ended up dead-last in the American League East standings. (And to be fair to the Orioles organization, they released a statement distancing themselves quite far from Luke's comments.)
If I had Luke Scott's talent, I'd make damn sure I stuck with baseball.
Oh, and before I get a lot of crap about "everyone can have an opinion -- you just don't like his" kind of stuff: Yes. It's true. Everyone can have an opinion. Everyone should have a well-informed, articulate opinion.
My point here is that I'm starting to see more and more thoughtless, careless comments from people who are clearly ill-informed. Not right or wrong -- just without all the facts. If I were Luke Scott, I'd be pretty embarrassed by that interview. The Answer Man literally provided correct answers to several of his untrue statements. Whether you're a media savvy public policy wonk or a baseball player, who could possibly think that's a good thing?
You struck out, Luke.
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A White House staff shake-up is not surprising at all. I'm sure the time-honored Beltway parlor game of who-goes-where is in full-effect right now in bars and restaurants around D.C.
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Um. Ookaaayyy... Say what you will about Justice Scalia -- he's almost always entertaining.
Also, I find his views on pizza to be abhorrent.
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I always wondered how the rich got richer, and well... this is how.
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Speaking of the rich, congratulations to my fellow Floridians: Rick Scott is officially our governor.
So much to blog about, so little time.
-- More later --