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September 11: When Israel Landed in Wichita

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Wichita's Eisenhower National Airport USA Today  says it is one of the best airports in the nation. When the F.A.A. made the decision to immediately ground every non-military flight on September 11, 40 passenger airliners and seven cargo flights landed in Wichita as it is a high-capacity airport with long runways. The interesting story is  here .  I wish to focus on one aspect of the story because it relates to some of the unfortunate division in our nation today.  A small portion of the 47 planes that had to immediately land in Wichita One of the flights that landed in Wichita was Israel's EL AL Airlines' Flight #005 to Los Angeles. Most None of the passengers had never been to America's Heartland before, some had never been to the USA before, and some of them didn't speak English. According to news coverage, many of the passengers were afraid to land in Wichita because they were concerned the great people of our city would be anti-Semitic and/or would 'blame...
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Twenty-Five Years Later

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There's not much I can say that hasn't been said before. After a fun weekend with friends during which we watched Kansas State put a well-deserved whuppin' on USC, we decided to spend a few days in Palm Springs. We knew immediately we were under attack when the second plane hit the South Tower.  I had scheduled an early morning tennis match and I didn't know how to cancel, so I went. It was then that I heard about the plane hitting the Pentagon and Flight 93. When I returned to our room, I learned that all flights had been grounded. I told Kathleen, "start packing, we are going to drive to Wichita. There's no way they will have the airlines unscrambled in time for our flight back in 48 hours." I called Hertz while I went to a gas station and to purchase a car charger for my cell phone. We made the best of the drive back.  The bravery and self-sacrifice of our first responders, the passengers of Flight 93, and countless others showed the best of America. Th...
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No, Not the Worst Summer on Record

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The past week the usual suspects were claiming it has been the worst summer on record. That is just not true when it comes to extreme heat.  The 1930's were far worse. 
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Piers Corbyn: "The Policies for Controlling Climate are Not Actually About Controlling Climate, They are About Controlling You."

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There is an outstanding video that reviews 50 years of climate nonsense.  Two things can be true at the same time: The rise in worldwide temperatures is concerning and we should take  intelligent measures to mitigate it.  Most of what has been proposed/said/implemented the past 50 years is expensive nonsense designed to cut our freedoms -- both personal and economic. We've spent $17 trillion  dollars and accomplished nothing constructive.  Please watch the video. 
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Solutions to the Issue of the Phony Michigan 'Victory' - Updated

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  Note: I am spending so much time (see my Twitter/X feed) on this because I LOVE football. There have been too many 'mysterious' endings to games in recent years but Saturday night's was beyond the pale. Add the endorsement of gambling by college sports and it makes it worse. It is time for fans to say STOP! The outcome of Saturday's Western Michigan v Michigan game needs to be overturned by the NCAA. We need universal, not conference-loyal, referees (like the NFL's). The same should be true of all officials from the chain gang to the official timer in the press box. There can be no more double-secret, decoder ring, password-protected 'clocks' that no one can see except (allegedly) the replay booths. The stadium clock, which is the same as TV (barring malfunction), should be official. Period. The NCAA rule outlawing the use of tenths of second in college football timing should continue. By NCAA ruling, all conferences should adopt the replay transparency of...
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Serious Flooding Risk in Iowa as Week Progresses

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The most likely area for flooding is the area tinted in blue.  Here are the seven day rainfall amounts as forecast by the NWS. 
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4:30am Hurricane Lowell Update

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At bottom right are the Hawaiian Islands. The small island farthest west (left) is Niihau and the next one to the right is Kauai. They were struck hard by now rapidly weakening Lowell.  On Kauai, the reported peak gust was at a place called Puu Lua which was 92 mph (I am not familiar with that location and cannot find it on a map). Nawiliwili had a gust of 86 mph, Barking Sands 84 mph and Lihue (where you land when you fly to Kauai) had 84, which was a bit higher than expected. Because it is still dark, we don't know much about damage except that it is said to be "extensive." On Kauai, poweroutage.us says 90% of the customers (homes and businesses) are without power.  We have not heard from Niihau and I'm not sure we will in the near future. It is a colony of native Hawaiians who often resist communicating with the outside world. 
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