Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The Jawa’s are Back!

In The Bullpen (Chad Evans) Terrorism News in Brief — [A wide ranging, but concise look at the current state of the GWOT. Jim]

Confederate Yankee Resurrecting Ghosts — “Outfitted with an emergency response center, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations center and a land/sea/air communications center than can coordinate across military, law enforcement and civilian radio frequencies, this ship will be the coordinating hub of disaster response in coming hurricane seasons, working with FEMA, the Coast Guard, Salvation Army and other organizations that response to the worse storms Mother Nature can throw at Gulf and East Coast states.”

Ankle Biting Pundits (Bull Dog Pundit) Israel Offers Lessons On How To Fight Terrorists — “If you want to see how to deal with an enemy that wants nothing short of the destruction of your religion and your way of life look no further than what Israel is doing in the Gaza strip.”

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce. ~ Oliver Wendall Holmes Sr

Confederate Yankee Shots Fired in the Immigration War — “Have we learned nothing from the riots in Europe? Unskilled, uneducated immigrants will cluster in ghettos, become understandably outraged at their inability to have what they see others having. We will run the distinct risk of having riots in New York and Los Angeles on par with what we saw in Paris.” [You should also read his update on Operation Enduring Service, a very worthwhile project. Jim]

Captain’s Quarters (Ed Morrissey) Two Components Of Bush Border-Security Plan Seem … Insecure — “It really seems as if the White House wrote a speech to just pacify their critics instead of actually responding to their concerns. If this is how seriously the administration takes border security, then we need to bring a screeching halt to the immigration reform bill until that attitude changes.”

Stop The ACLU (Jay) Mexico Threatens Suits Over Guard Patrols — “Just when you thought the illegal invasion couldn’t get any more insulting…Mexico has the audacity to threaten lawsuits if we protect our country by using the National Guard to detain their invaders.”

Blogs for Bush (Matt Margolis) WaPo Commends Bush’s Comprehensive Approach To Immigration Policy — “I know many conservatives are still unsatisfied, but I don’t believe any other President would be willing to address the immigration issue as President has. Politicians can often talk tough about immigration, but political realities have to sink in at some point.”

Lorrie Byrd.com (Lorrie Byrd) Disagree, Don’t Destroy — “Voicing opposition to your president or party should not be discouraged. The fact that we have that freedom is one of the things that makes this country great. I was not opposed to those conservatives that split with the president over Miers vigorously fighting that battle. Most did so in a civil and fair manner. There were some, however, that used the dispute to call for the destruction of the Republican Party. I fear that some are now presently pursuing that course over the issue of illegal immigration.”

Back in December I tried to help spread the word about Operation Enduring Service. Yesterday Bob Owens (Confederate Yankee) reminded us that this opportunity could be slipping away.

Here is some background for those of you who are not aware of this project. OES is a program which will utilize obsolete military ships to provide emergency relief and disaster response at no cost to the taxpayers and a savings to the government of at least $100 million. From Bob’s post:

[Ward Brewer] The former emergency responder is the CEO of Beauchamp Tower Corporation, a non-profit organization with a bold and brilliant idea: convert obsolete, scrapyard-bound military vessels into a fleet of state-of-the-art disaster response ships that can be on-site after a major natural disaster like last year’s Hurricane Katrina in a matter of hours instead of days. Many of the challenges Beauchamp Tower Corporation have been document Operation Enduring Service on the OES Project Weblog.

Retired Navy veterans such as Mars-class combat stores ships and other obsolete but still-capable cargo ships will be refitted to provide complex emergency communications support that can replace cell phone and radio towers lost in a hurricane, so that on-shore first responders can answer rescue calls even if the local phone and radio systems are destroyed.

These same ships, crewed by the Coast Guard Auxiliary and supported by disaster-aid groups, can bring in hundreds of emergency-response personnel to a disaster zone and provide them housing so that lodging on-shore can be dedicated to the victims of the storm, while bringing thousands of tons of supplies. Each ship will also be capable of distilling, bottling, and shipping thousands of gallons of water and over 100 tons of ice to shore each day.

This humanitarian fleet—this Salvation Navy—will have far more disaster-response capability than anything currently in use by either FEMA or the military, and—here’s the kicker—it actually saves taxpayers the tens of millions of dollars it would have taken to turn these ships into scrap.

But to do this it is going to take a literal Act of Congress.

For want of a “germaine” bill between now and the end of March to which they can attach a rider giving these obsolete ships to his non-profit Beauchamp Tower Corporation, the entire program could be sent to the bottom.

The U.S. Navy has been holding these ships, but if legislation does not come through soon, other interests and indeed other countries will be allowed to potentially scrap or salvage these ships, ships that could be saving American lives in coming hurricane seasons. We gripe about foreign nations controlling our ports, even as we give away our ships. This must not stand.

The only way it will not stand is if we get involved. Bloggers, writing a post about this and drawing needed attention to this project would be a good place to start. Everyone, you need to contact your Congress members.

Email this information to your friends, talk about it with your co-workers, send letters to the editor of your local paper. In short, don’t let this fine idea die for a lack of action on our part.

UPDATE: I’ve written to my Congress members. Have you?

Here is the letter I sent. Please send yours today.

I want to make you aware, if you’re not already, about Operation Enduring
service. Ward Brewer is the CEO of Beauchamp Tower Corporation, a
non-profit organization with a bold and brilliant idea: convert obsolete,
scrapyard-bound military vessels into a fleet of state-of-the-art disaster
response ships that can be on-site after a major natural disaster like
last year’s Hurricane Katrina in a matter of hours instead of days.

However, a bill or rider is needed to give these obsolete ships to this
non-profit group before they are scrapped. Won’t you step up and support
this idea that can save tax payers money and provide an invaluable service
in times of disaster.

Sincerely,
Jim Lynch

Linked with TMH’s Bacon Bits Bacon Break — Temptation edition, Don Surber’s Thursday’s Best, and basil’s blog picnic.