DHL's History of Self-destruction

From the day the Germans bought DHL Worldwide Express, they have made one stupid decison after another, and now, with the company in ruins at its feet, DHL is holding a gun to its own head and putting pressure on the trigger.

I got off the Titanic a few days before DHL announced last month that it is scrapping its air operations in the United States and contracting for DHL shipments with rival UPS. My retirement date is later this month. But for 500 other pilots at ASTAR Air Cargo (formerly DHL Airways) and for several hundred more at Airborne Express Air pilots, plus several thousand DHL employees who are in mid-career, the results of DHL mismanagement are devastating.

Here is a link to a short video created by an ASTAR pilot that says it all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HkXuLgt4ak

NRA vs Obama

The fund-raising letter I received today from Chris Cox, Executive Director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, hammers Barack Obama's record on firearm issues and his ill-advised, poorly worded statement to the effect that small-town Americans are bitter and, for solace, turn to guns and religion.

The letter does not mention any other candidate as being preferable, perhaps because the alternative may be closer to correct on guns, but he will be a disaster for the country on almost everything else.

Although I am a life member of the NRA, and although I realize Obama has no idea of the origins of the Second Amendment--what it meant to those who wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and what it means today--he is on the right side of almost everything else, from health care and troop care to international relations and the economy.

So, I'm sorry, Chris, no money from me for the NRA-ILA on this one. All the money I can spare for causes these days goes directly to Barack Obama's campaign.

Jim Webb for VP?

Given Obama's lack of military service, perhaps Senator Jim Webb would be his best choice for Vice President to offset McCain's status as a war hero primarily by virtue of his having been captured and imprisoned.

Webb is 62, older than Obama, but not too old.

Here is a quick bio of Senator Webb:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Webb