SELLING OUR Everything

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of:
-- Having the BOTTON LINE as the only measure of success (Thank you, Bill Clinton)

--In an indirect way, saying Americanworkers can "Cut it", but only when working for a foreign company

--Selling out heritage to "Make a buck"





http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=5051650
Politics May Block InBev's Anheuser-Busch Bid
Belgian Brewer InBev's unsolicited bid for Anheuser-Busch could fall prey to US politics
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD

Belgian Brewer InBev is offering a big payday to shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., but its bid to create the world's largest beer company is already facing a major obstacle — U.S. election-year politics.

InBev SA, whose brands include Beck's and Stella Artois, delivered an unsolicited all-cash bid of $65 a share for Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, Michelob and Bud Light. That's well above the St. Louis-based company's closing share price of $58.35 Wednesday.

But politicians and activists are already lining up against the deal, saying it could cost jobs in the United States and send ownership of an iconic American company overseas. With economic concerns at the front of voters' minds, the opposition could cause a headache for InBev.

Republican Gov. Matt Blunt said Wednesday he opposes the deal, and directed the Missouri Department of Economic Development to see if there was a way to stop it.

"I am strongly opposed to the sale of Anheuser-Busch, and today's offer to purchase the company is deeply troubling to me," Blunt said in a statement.

Web sites have sprung up opposing the deal on patriotic grounds, arguing that such an iconic U.S. firm shouldn't be handed over to foreign ownership. One of the sites, called SaveAB.com, was launched by Blunt's former chief of staff, Ed Martin.

"Shareholders should resist choosing dollars over American jobs," Martin said in a statement Wednesday night. "Selling out to the Belgians is not worth it — because this is about more than beer: it's about our jobs and our nation."

If the deal goes through, it would create a beer-brewing giant and mark just the latest phase of consolidation in an industry facing rising ingredient costs and stale demand in the United States.

"Anheuser-Busch said that its board of directors will evaluate the proposal carefully and in the context of all relevant factors, including Anheuser-Busch's long-term strategic plan," the company said in a statement. "The board will pursue the course of action that is in the best interests of Anheuser-Busch's stockholders."

A spokeswoman said the company would not comment beyond the statement.

InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito said the deal would boost both companies, giving InBev access to the U.S. market while expanding Anheuser-Busch's reach overseas.

"We have the highest respect for Anheuser-Busch, its employees and its leadership, who have built the leading brewer in the U.S. and grown the iconic Budweiser brand. Together, we would draw on the collective expertise of both companies' management and employees."

Shares of Anheuser-Busch soared 7.6 percent to $62.80 after regular trading hours, when the announcement was made. They had risen 2 percent in late-afternoon trading, when rumors of the deal were reported on CNBC. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that the deal might occur.

InBev was formed in 2004 when Belgium's Interbrew merged with South America's biggest brewer AmBev. Since then, the company has cut jobs in several European countries while its sales were boosted by strong demand in Latin American countries.

Worries about job cuts at Anheuser-Busch could be justified. InBev has a reputation for squeezing costs out of the companies it acquires, said Benj Steinman, editor of the Beer Marketer's Insights trade publication. Because of its size — and control of nearly half the U.S. beer market — Anheuser-Busch could be a ripe target for cost-cutting.

"One theory is that their own cost reductions are winding down in Europe and Asia and around the world, and they need somewhere to sort of implement what they're best at," Steinman said.

InBev tried to allay those fears Wednesday, saying it would not close any Anheuser-Busch breweries and would make St. Louis the headquarters for its North American division. The company also said it would invite some Anheuser-Busch directors to join InBev's board.

Anheuser-Busch executives have made cost-cutting a goal over the last two years. Sales in the United States have been stagnant as consumers turn toward wine and cocktails, and the rising costs of ingredients have bitten into profit margins.

Last year, Anheuser-Busch turned a profit of $2.12 billion, up nearly 8 percent from $1.97 billion in 2006. But its core brands of Budweiser and Bud Light continued to lag as sales of craft beers and imports rose.

While the InBev deal looks sweet on paper, it's far from a sure thing. InBev said it plans to pay for the deal with $40 billion in debt, and raising so much capital could be tough as banks tighten their standards during a global credit crunch.

InBev's statement said the company has "strong support" from a number of financial institutions, including Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan. The company would pay for part of the deal by divesting some "noncore assets" along with equity financing.

Opposition to the deal is sure to be stiff in St. Louis. SaveAB.com offers visitors yard signs and bumper stickers to express their distaste for the purchase.

"Like baseball, apple pie and ice cold beer (wrapped in a red, white and blue label), Anheuser-Busch is an American original," the site says.

Obama Running for Jimmy Carter's Second Term

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25066280#25066280

Deflecting attacks that his administration would be a third Bush term, John McCain said Barack Obama is "running for Jimmy Carter's second" in an interview with Brian Williams on the NBC Nightly News.

"Senator Obama says that I'm running for a Bush's third terms. It seems to me he's running for Jimmy Carter's second," McCain said.

The comment came during a discussion on record high gas prices.

Asked to clarify his comment, McCain said, "He's got proposal that would raise taxes by $1.4 trillion, you know, over five years. Raise spending -excuse me, raise spending by $1.4 trillion over five years. And no way to pay for his programs. That would put us further in debt.
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/06/09/mccain-obama-running-for-jimmy-carters-second-term/

Another Crooked DA

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood-Large, Smaller pic is Dickie Scruggs






http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422017605&rss=newswire


Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood wrongly conspired with prominent trial attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs to skirt a court order in a case involving Hurricane Katrina insurance claims, a federal judge has ruled.

Referring to Hood as a "so-called law enforcement officer," U.S. District Judge William Acker said the attorney general helped his "close confidant" Scruggs avoid handing over stolen insurance company documents that Scruggs wanted for lawsuits against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co.

Acker did not recommend any criminal or civil action against Hood in the opinion, filed Thursday.

But the judge cited Scruggs and two whistleblowers for civil contempt and ordered them to pay $65,000 in attorney fees to an Alabama company that worked for State Farm and sued in Birmingham after its records were taken.

In a news release Friday, Hood said he planned to file a motion asking Acker "to revise such uncalled for derogatory conclusions."

Hood accused Acker of interfering with a grand jury investigation and said judicial rules do not allow for "unnecessary attacks" on court officials.

Hood's office did not respond to questions about the personal relationship between the attorney general and Scruggs, who separately is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to bribe a Mississippi judge over $26.5 million in legal fees related to Katrina cases.

Alabama-based E.A. Renfroe & Co. Inc. worked as an adjusting firm for State Farm after Katrina wiped out much of the Gulf Coast in 2005. Sisters Cori and Kerri Rigsby claimed the insurer was trying to avoid paying claims through fraud and took records from E.A. Renfroe, their employer.

The sisters provided records to Scruggs, who became entangled in the dispute over the documents after E.A. Renfroe filed suit seeking their return.

Attorneys for Scruggs did not immediately return a message Friday seeking comment. Harlan F. Winn III, a lawyer for the sisters, said they were disappointed with the ruling and had not decided whether to appeal.

E.A. Renfroe accuses the sisters of wrongly taking the documents. A lawyer for the company, Barbara Ellis Stanley, declined to comment.

Acker previously accused Scruggs of criminal contempt for taking the records from the sisters and giving them to Hood, but another judge threw out that case. Acker then found Scruggs and the Rigsby sisters guilty of civil contempt and ordered them to pay $65,000 in attorney fees and expenses.

A Marine recognizes Memorial Day+ 2 more MOH's

MEMORIAL DAY 25 MAY 2008
FALLUJAH, IRAQ
First, a few statistics to ponder. There are twenty-five million living American Veterans. Since General George Washington commanded the Continental Army forty-two million Americans have served the colors. A million have been killed in its defense. Another million and a half wounded. When most of us think about military cemeteries the first thought that comes to mind is Arlington National in Washington, but there are many, many more in the U.S. Most Americans also don’t know there are 24 American cemeteries maintained overseas with 125,000 graves of our fallen—61,000 in France alone—the result of two wars that saved Europe and the world from horrors unimaginable to Americans today; unimaginable, that is, unless you are a Veteran who have seen the terrible face of war so those who remained safe in America, and those yet unborn, would never have to. There are also memorials overseas to an additional 94,000 Americans who were lost at sea, or their remains never recovered from battlefields around the globe. With all this service and loss, we as Americans can be proud of the kind of people we are as we have never retained a square foot of any country we have defeated, we possess no empire, nor have we enslaved a single human being. On the contrary, billions across the planet are today—and billions yet unborn—live free because our Veterans have fought and died, and, once peace achieved, we’ve rebuilt destroyed cities, economies, and societies.


Memorial Day was established three years after our terrible Civil War that finally established what kind of nation we would be. A war in which 600,000 young Americans—North and South—perished. For a century the day continued to mean visiting and decorating graves or town-square memorials to those who died serving our great nation, and celebrating with parades and civic events. Americans kept the day quiet pausing to remember, at least for a little while, the kind of men and women they were who gave the last full measure, and the immensity of the sacrifice they made for those who remained protected at home.


Americans should not forget this weekend or any weekend as they relax with a few days off that the country is at war, and a new Greatest Generation is fighting a merciless enemy on their behalf in the terrible heat of Iraq, and in the mountains of Afghanistan. Like it or not America is engaged in a war today against an enemy that is savage, offers no quarter, whose only objectives are to either kill every one of our families in our homeland, or enslave us with a sick form of extremism that serves no God or purpose that rational men and women can understand. Given the opportunity to do another 9/11, our vicious enemy would do it today, tomorrow and everyday thereafter. I don’t know why they hate us, and I frankly don’t care and they can all go to hell, but they do hate us and are driven irrationally to our destruction. The best way to fight them is somewhere else and that is why we are here. For whatever reason they want to destroy our way of life our countrymen at home should be on their knees everyday thanking God we still have enough young people in America today willing to take up the fight as our Veterans did from the earliest days of our nation.

They should know that they are protected today by men and women as good as have ever served; as good today as their fathers were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. In this my third tour in Iraq I have never seen an American hesitate, or do anything other than lean into the danger and, with no apparent fear of death or injury, take the fight to the enemies of our way of life. As anyone who has ever experienced combat knows, and many of you do, when it starts, when the explosions and tracers are everywhere and the calls for the Corpsman or medic are screamed from the throats of men who know they are dying—when seconds seem like hours and it all becomes slow motion and fast forward at the same time—everything in one’s survival instinct says stop, get down, save yourself —yet you don’t. When no one would call you coward for cowering behind a wall or in a hole looking to your own self preservation, none of you do. It doesn’t matter if it’s an IED, a suicide bomber, mortar attack, fighting in the upstairs room of a house, or all of it at once—America should know you fight today in the same way our warriors have since the Revolution.


The wonderful thing about America’s Armed Forces is that none of us are born killers. On the contrary we are good and decent Americans mostly from the neighborhoods of America’s cities, and small towns. Almost all come from “salt of the earth” working class homes, and more often than not are the sons and daughters of cops and firemen, factory and service workers, and farmers. Most of us delivered papers, stocked shelves in the grocery store, played Little League baseball and pickup hockey in the local rink, and served Mass on Sunday morning. Some are former athletes, and many “couch potatoes” who drove our cars and motorcycles too fast, and blasted our music louder than perhaps we should have. We are all ordinary people performing remarkable acts of bravery and selfless acts of devotion to a cause bigger than ourselves—and for millions who will never know our names. Any one of us could have all stayed in school or gone another way, but yet we chose to serve knowing full well Iraq and Afghanistan was in our future. You did not avoid the most basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen—to defend the nation and its people—on the contrary, you went after it. You did not fail in life which the chattering class back home likes to believe is why you chose to serve and risk dying for the nation, but, rather, are the best our nation produces and have consciously put every American at home above your own self interest. You are all heroes and like many Veterans throughout our history many of us have endured things—sights, sounds and horrors—that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I know I find comfort that because I am here those I love and have sworn to protect will never have to deal with memories so terrible. I hope you who have seen these things have the same sense of purpose and balance when you relive the scenes of violence, and of decisions made.


America’s Armed Forces today know the price of being the finest men and women this nation has to offer, and pay it we do everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than four thousand of us have died in this war, and ten-times this number have been wounded. And the sacrifice continues as young Americans have gone to God since we all went to bed last night and slept free and protected. Their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, wives, husbands, and fiancés are sitting in their living rooms right now with casualty officers learning the true price of freedom, and are only just beginning a lifelong struggle of dealing with the pain and loss of someone so dear, but they are not victims as they knew what they were about and were doing what they wanted to do. Many of today’s self-proclaimed experts and media commentators endeavor to make them out to be victims but they are wrong, and this only detracts from the decision these patriots made to step forward and protect the country that has given so much to all of us. We who are serving, and have served, demand not to be categorized as victims—we are not. Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when strong and committed men and women stand tall and firm against our enemies, just as they can’t begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night—the protected never do. What the experts, commentators, and elites are missing, what they will also never understand, is the sense of commitment, joy, and honor, of serving the nation in its uniform, but every American Veteran, and their loved ones who support them and fear for them everyday, do understand.


We should all be confident that this experiment in democracy we call America will forever remain the “land of the free and home of the brave” so long as we never run out of tough young Americans willing to look beyond their own self interest and comfortable lives, and go into the darkest and most dangerous places on earth to hunt down, and kill, those who would do us harm.


In closing I wanted to share a story that you may not be aware of that took place only a few miles from here in Ramadi. On 22 April 2nd Battalion 8th Marines and 1st Battalion, 9th Marines were in the process of turning over a Joint Security Station Nasser. It’s in the Sophia district of Ramadi, and was once the center of the insurgency in that city. Two Marines who barely knew each other as one was coming and the other going were standing guard at the Entry Control Point (ECP): their names were Jonathan Yale and Jordan Haerter.

At 0745, and without warning, a large truck accelerated towards the ECP careening off the protective serpentine. Both must have understood on instinct what was happening as in less then a second they went to the guns and opened fire until the massive 2,000lb blast took their lives—but the suicide bomber never passed the post they protected, and 50 other Marines and perhaps as many police didn’t die that day inside the JSS. I spoke to several Iraqi police eyewitness and they all told the same story, but one more emotionally than the others. He said no sane man would have stood there directly in the path of a speeding truck firing their weapons—yet two did. His officers, some as close as ten feet initially from the Marines, fired and ran when it was obvious the truck could not be stopped—and they survived. The Marines stood their ground and stopped the truck before it detonated, and saved the lives of their buddies.

A sacred duty of every commander in combat, yet the one we dread the most, is writing letters home to families who have lost a son or a daughter. I wanted to close by reading you a letter I wrote that night to the mother of one of those two heroes that for me sums up who and what we are as warriors and Veterans, why we serve, and how we will remember each other.

THE AUTHOR:



Major General John F. Kelly
Commanding General, Multi National Force - West


Major General John F. Kelly currently serves as the Commanding General, Multi National Force - West

Major General Kelly was born and raised in Boston, MA. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1970, and was discharged as a Sergeant in 1972, after serving in an infantry company with the 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, NC. Following graduation from the University of Massachusetts in 1976, he was commissioned and returned to the 2nd Marine Division where he served as a rifle and weapons platoon commander, company executive officer, assistant operations officer, and infantry company commander. Sea duty in Mayport, FL, followed, at which time he served aboard aircraft carriers USS Forrestal and USS Independence. In 1980, then Captain Kelly, transferred to the U.S. Army's Infantry Officer Advanced Course in Fort Benning, GA. After graduation, he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, DC, serving there from 1981 through 1984, as an assignment monitor. Captain Kelly returned to the 2nd Marine Division in 1984, to command a rifle and weapons company. Promoted to the rank of Major in 1987, he served as the battalion's operations officer.

In 1987, Major Kelly transferred to the Basic School, Quantico, VA, serving first as the head of the Offensive Tactics Section, Tactics Group, and later assuming the duties of the Director of the Infantry Officer Course. After three years of instructing young officers, he attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the School for Advanced Warfare, both located at Quantico. Completing duty under instruction and selected for Lieutenant Colonel, he was assigned as Commanding Officer, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. Holding this command position for two years, Lieutenant Colonel Kelly returned to the East Coast in 1994, to attend the National War College in Washington, DC. He graduated in 1995, and was selected to serve as the Commandant's Liaison Officer to the U.S. House of Representatives, Capitol Hill, where he was promoted to the rank of Colonel.

In 1999, Colonel Kelly transferred to joint duty and served as the Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, in Mons, Belgium. He returned to the United States in 2001, and was assigned to a third tour of duty at Camp Lejeune, now as the Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 with the 2nd Marine Division. In 2002, selected to the rank of Brigadier General, Colonel Kelly again served with the 1st Marine Division, this time as the Assistant Division Commander. Much of Brigadier General Kelly's two-year assignment was spent deployed in Iraq. His previous assignment was Legislative Assistant to the Commandant, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, Washington, DC

Another Marine--Another Hunter

Duncan D. Hunter gets ready to be interviewed by radio personality Roger Hedgecock Tuesday night at Golden Hall Election Central. Hunter received 73 percent of Republican votes cast in the June 3 Primary Election and will be the Republican candidate for the 52nd District Congressional seat in the November election. Photo/Carl Klem



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-hunter2-2008jun02,0,4632506.story

From the Los Angeles Times

JUNE 2 2008:

CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS
Duncan Hunter prepares to pass the torch -- to Duncan D. Hunter
In the 52nd Congressional District, the conservative Republican son hopes to succeed his conservative Republican father.

By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 2, 2008

ALPINE — Here in the Republican stronghold of eastern San Diego County, Duncan Hunter the son is attempting to succeed Duncan Hunter the father in the 52nd Congressional District.

The elder Hunter is leaving Congress after 14 terms and a failed try this year for the GOP nomination for president.

When he first ran for Congress in 1980, he was a 31-year-old combat veteran from Vietnam. His son is a 31-year-old combat veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Father and son share the same brand of conservatism: Continue building the border fence; continue fighting in Iraq; cut spending and taxes; oppose abortion and gay marriage; and support the rights of gun owners and sportsmen. (The Hunters are hunters.)

"If you're asking if I've fallen far from the Hunter tree, the answer is no," the younger Duncan Hunter said at a fundraiser hosted by his parents last week at their hilltop home here, 40 miles east of downtown San Diego.

Hunter's three opponents generally share his political views and have credentials that, in a Hunter-free election, might make them front-runners in this ruby-red district.

Brian Jones, 39, is a Santee councilman and unordained Christian minister. Rick Powell, 61, is a former Marine and retired Army colonel who served in Vietnam and Iraq and worked for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Bob Watkins, 65, is a county school board member and owner of an international management consulting business.

An independent poll done for the Sycuan band of Indians, which donated $2,300 to Watkins, suggests that Hunter will win easily.

Whoever wins the Republican nomination becomes a favorite to beat the Democratic nominee in November. Republicans hold a 14-point registration advantage in a district that includes the eastern edge of San Diego and several suburbs. President Bush got 61% of the vote in 2004.

"Duncan Hunter is the brand name, the Coca-Cola. The others are off-brands," said Carl Luna, political science professor at San Diego Mesa College.

Hunter's family is helping. His brother Sam quit his job at a golf course to work on the campaign. And although the candidate was deployed to Afghanistan last year, much of the campaign organizing and fundraising was done by his wife, Margaret.

Hunter, who graduated from San Diego State University, quit a high-tech job to join the Marines shortly after Sept. 11.

An artillery officer, he was deployed to Iraq in 2003 after the fall of Baghdad and then again in 2004 for the battle in Falluja. He is now a captain, no longer on active duty but eligible to be recalled for a fourth deployment.

When he was in Iraq, Hunter saw no need to tell his fellow junior officers that his father was a congressman -- the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee until the Democratic takeover in 2006.

But on the campaign trail, he is his father's son and proud of it. He stumped for his father in South Carolina. For his own campaign, he inserts a middle initial D (for Duane) on his campaign material.

The criticism of Duncan D. Hunter is much the same as it was of his father in 1980: lack of experience outside military service.

Powell said that his opponent Hunter leans heavily on his Iraq and Afghanistan service while campaigning. As a colonel, Powell said, he commanded far more troops than Hunter would as a captain.

"He's a patriot, there's no doubt," Powell said. "Duncan D. talks about his combat experience in nearly every subject; that's the limit of his experience."

Another opponent, Jones, said he figures that 52nd District voters want a change. He's slammed Hunter for taking campaign contributions from defense firms that benefited from his father's "earmark" appropriations.

"Nothing against the congressman or his son, but people want a fresh face and some fresh ideas," Jones said.

The Alpine fundraiser was attended by about 150 people, some of whom have supported the candidate's father since his first campaign.

Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-Carlsbad) remembered when he first met the elder Hunter in 1979. Bilbray was the surfer-mayor of Imperial Beach when in walked "some crazy young lawyer from National City asking for my vote."

Duncan D. promised the gathering he would continue the "Hunter legacy," particularly in championing increased border security. America has to be a good place when "good people, like my father, run for Congress."

A gentle joke ran through the crowd that someday Duncan Hunter will be remembered not for his own accomplishments but rather as the father of Duncan D. Hunter. That thought didn't seem to bother the congressman.

"My son is a great American," he said.

Minnesota, Liberals, and Free Speech

Minnesota Teens Barred From Graduation for Displaying Confederate Flags on Pick-Ups
(Story -Video at:
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=107483

So, the reverse-hate groups in Minnesota took immediate action against these kids for having a confederate flag.

Do they think Ted Nugent is a Hate Leader?(Photo above)

I keep saying over and over: Liberals have two hallmarks: Fantasy and Hypocrisy.
Here we have both.
Fantasy is labeling a historical flag a Hate symbol. This flag was flown by people WHO WANTED TO RULE THEMSELVES, and not be dictated to by Washington DC.
If you are going to ban this flag, why not the flag at the top pf this post--Hell, it has a snake on it!

Hypocrisy is that someone wanted to show an admiration of Country life. Yet Minnesota elected a Muslim Congressman (Who, by his very religion can not have an allegiance to the United States), and they let Muslims dictate what people they will check out at the cashier's stand, or carry in their taxis.

Asdk yourself: What would have I done/thought/felt if some dipsh*t dictated that I could not graduate with my class for (Fill in the Blank)

This is RESPONSIBILTY

___________________________________________________________________________________

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynn, left, and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, testify in Washington in this file photo.
__________________________________________________________________________________

Remember how everyone gave Obama a pass when his campaign put Porta-Potties on a Peace Officer Memorial?
Guess the Government and the Military still believe in the concept of Responsibility going to the top.







http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahxQoTPqqVTs&refer=home

By Bill Arthur

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne are resigning at the request of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a defense official said.

Gates scheduled a news conference later today to discuss the departures.

The departures are related to a number of Air Force problems in handling nuclear weapons and aren't the result of any policy disputes, the official said.

Admiral Kirkland Donald, director of naval nuclear propulsion, said in a recent report that Gates must make changes, according to the Air Force Times, a newspaper serving Air Force personnel.

Last October, three senior officers were relieved of command for their roles in mistakenly allowing a B-52 bomber to fly from North Dakota to Louisiana carrying six cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads.

Less than two weeks ago, the same Air Force unit that was responsible for mishandling the cruise missiles failed key parts of a nuclear safety inspection, the Washington Post reported.

The 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota was given a grade of ``unacceptable'' in the security of nuclear weapons and a ``marginal'' grade at management and administration by the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Post said. These failures were in the same two areas that allowed the missiles to be flown, the paper said.

Shipment of Fuses

Another controversy involved the Air Force's erroneous shipment of fuses for nuclear missiles to Taiwan in 2006. The mistake was revealed only in March, a disclosure that strained relations with Taiwan and prompted Gates to order a complete inventory of U.S. nuclear weapons and components.

President George W. Bush nominated Wynne to the top Air Force post in August 2005. At that time he was the Defense Department's No. 2 acquisition official. Prior to that, he held a variety of senior positions at General Dynamics Corp., retiring in 1999 as senior vice president, according to his biography on the Defense Department's Web site.

Wynne received his bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as a captain in the Air Force. He received master's degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado.

Moseley took office in November 2005. He has been in the Air Force for more than 30 years, serving in a variety of commands.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Schmick in Washington at wschmick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 5, 2008 15:23 EDT

They weren't looking for AZTLAN

Historians researching Custer's last stand found that most of the enlisted soldiers that were killed with Custer were immigrants. Men from Ireland, Scotland, England.

They came here to be Americans.

They didn't come to move Ireland, England, or Scotland here. They came for the freedom America promised. They died for that dream.

Meanwhile, recent immigrants want to have THEIR customs and language HERE, and want us--those who already had forefathers that earned the right to be here, to follow their F--d up way of life. They claim the fled to escape a S--thole, but they are trying to create a copy here