DUBAI TO WUNDERLICH WITH A STOPOVER AT KATRINA...

It would appear that some of this “news story” has calmed somewhat once people began hearing more about the facts. Amazing how much emotion can spill over based on “sound bites” and politicians trying to get media exposure!

There are several things that have been revealed since the brouhaha began:

1. It is not unusual that our ports, for a long time, have been managed by foreign countries,

2. Dubai has been a country who has carefully maintained its commitment to the war against terrorism since 9/11 in much the same way as Britain,

3. The ports have actually been guarded and serviced by American union members, namely the Longshoremen Union,

4. It is estimated that only 5% – 6% of incoming cargo is ever inspected,

5. Because of this unacceptable percentage, the managers of these ports have asked that more precise electronic surveillance be installed,

6. This has been rejected by the Union mainly, we assume, because they don’t want their members to lose jobs.

So, where are we? It would appear the real problem and potentially critical danger to the United States exists in the lack of certifiable inspection of incoming cargo shipments. This has to be addressed immediately no matter what agency is chosen to manage the ports. Get a grip, Rush and Hillary!

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So, it doesn’t matter if a franchise quarterback gets a score of 6 on the Wunderlich? Come on, that doesn’t equate. A quarterback has to have the necessary physical skills to guide the team, but there isn’t going to be much guidance if he doesn’t have the intellectual skill to perceive defense and strategy. We understand that Steve McNair scored a 16 on his test and that is approximately the same score Vince Young scored on a re-take.

Steve McNair sat on the bench behind Chris Chandler in Houston and then began starting when the Oilers/Titans moved to Nashville. Because of the fabulous “Music City Miracle” and their fantastic Defense, the Titans made it to the Super Bowl in 2000 and lost by a yard, or more precisely, lost the opportunity to tie the game and go into Overtime.

I’ve never seen a quarterback with more heart and warrior spirit than Steve McNair and I’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks, but with the talent surrounding him between 1999 – 2003, there were many times that Steve did not take advantage of that talent. One has to wonder if Steve was a little short in his ability to assess the necessary strategy to offensively win the game. The team had a dynamite Defense until 2004 when injuries began incapacitating them and we know that Defense is the name of the game in the NFL. With the stellar Defense from 1999 – 2003, why wouldn’t they have gone to the Super Bowl more than once?

Again, I do not diminish Steve McNair’s spirit and immense physical talent that he risked with abandon on the field. My question is that football is more than a physical game and I don’t think the best coach in the world can overcome a deficit in the Quarterback’s intellectual capacity. This all goes to say that I hope the Titans will carefully consider Mr. Young’s score and if it was an anomaly, then they should find no problem in adapting a plan within his physical and intellectual ability. A Wunderlich score is part of the evaluation.

We’ll see.

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Here’s a short stopover at the “Katrina” assessments:

The recent video of President Bush being advised of the situation prior to the devastation is not great cause to” pin the tail on the elephant.” I specifically recall the President making a radio appeal on Saturday before Katrina hit to evacuate the City. I would think that would be a sufficiently urgent message for the people to follow as well as a follow up with the same message by their Mayor! The people just didn’t believe them and there was no back-up for emergency vehicles to remove them safely from the city when the levees did break.

Bottom line, the break in the levees would have occurred no matter what Party was in the White House! What someone should be investigating is where was the money used that was allocated over the past thirty (30!) years to New Orleans to shore up the levee’s? It is criminal that this money, apparently, disappeared much in the same way as the distribution of Red Cross funds have.

Where is your outrage?