The Governator Looks Out for EMS/First Responders

Governor Vetoes 131 Bills, with Hundreds to Go
Schwarzenegger has until Tuesday to decide measures
John Wildermuth
The San Francisco Chronicle
2008 Sept 29

SACRAMENTO -- Facing a Tuesday night deadline, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to work his way through a stack of legislation on his desk Sunday, vetoing twice as many measures as he signed.

The governor vetoed 131 bills Sunday, bringing his total for 2008 to 278. With 341 bills remaining to be dealt with, Schwarzenegger has a good chance of surpassing the 311 vetoes he handed out in 2004.

The 61 bills Schwarzenegger signed Sunday included:
AB2737, by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, which allows a court to order blood to be withdrawn involuntarily from anyone arrested who has exposed police officers, firefighters or emergencymedical personnel to blood or bodily fluids.

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This is very important since the federal protection for EMS and first responders were stripped from the Ryan White Act in 2006 -the last time Congress reauthorized it. I applaud Gov. Schwarzengger for his approval of this bill!

Preparing for the Next President

Walked by the Capitol today - the side that faces the mall is all shut down to pedestrian traffic. According to the sign, they are getting ready for the inauguration.

Stay Vigilant!

As of September 30, 2008, the
Current Threat Level is Yellow - Elevated.

Given the current financial crisis facing the nation, I think that the Homeland Security Department should increases the threat level to High or even Severe. The inability of the House of Representatives to pass legislation that would deal with the economy yesterday has left the American economy in a very fragile state.

As all of the major news networks were quick to point out - we have not seen losses on Wall Street of this magnitude sine 9/11. It is a terrifying thought, and one could only imagine, what another terror attack on US soil would do to our economy in its present state.

Therefore, now, more than ever, it is important that law enforcement officials and the general public be vigilant in this time of tough economic uncertainty. Citizens should take notice of their surroundings, and report suspicious items or activities to local authorities immediately.

Hopefully Congress will pass legislation by the end of the week that will help us deal with this economic uncertainty and get our economy back on track. Until then, keep an eye out and pray for our men and women in uniform who risk their own lives protecting us everyday.

Missile Defense System

As stated yesterday, the recent actions by Russia have highlighted the need to get the proposed missile defense system in place soon. Now, because of the economy issues facing the USA, it is unclear when and if the proposed missile defense shield will be in place. This issue is causing the Polish to take a second look at the issue, and the candidates.

Both candidates, in fact, back the plan. Obama, however, has said that he would want to test the effectiveness of the missiles before they are activated.

According to Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski:

""I have spoken personally to both Senator McCain and twice by telephone to Senator Obama. We are confident that President McCain would continue with the deal. Senator Obama told me that he is conceptually in favor of missile defence," he said.
"My interpretation of that is that it is a higher than 50 percent chance that he (Obama) would go along because we are pretty confident that it is not directed at Russia," he told reporters at an EU meeting in Avignon, France."

The Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg on Friday, September 26th said that Czech officials had been in contact with the campaigns of both presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, to discuss the future of the missile shield. He said a delay would be more likely if Obama wins the November 4 election.

Days after Russia's military intervention in Georgia this month, Poland and the United States signed a long-awaited deal to station parts of the shield on Polish soil.

The 10 interceptor rockets in Poland, along with a radar complex in the Czech Republic, will form the European part of a global system Washington says will be able to shoot down missiles from enemy states or groups such as al Qaeda.
Despite U.S. assurances to the contrary, Russia sees the ballistic missile shield as a threat to its own security and some Russian politicians and generals have said Poland must be prepared for a preventive attack on the site in the future.

This missile defense shield is not popular with the Russians. On Friday, September 26th, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, visited Warsaw, the first visit by a senior Russian official since Russia’s war with Georgia in August to an EU member state. Mr. Lavrov spoke of Warsaw’s deal with Washington for 10 interceptor missiles in the north of Poland:

“A simple military analysis proves that a US base in Europe for global anti-missile defence has no other, and for many years will have no other, target but Russian missiles “All objective experts understand that Iran’s missiles pose no threat to Europe and even less to the United States.” He added that Poland had naively been drawn into a dangerous game “perhaps not fully understanding the ramifications of its decision.” Complete Story

One of the sights for the proposed missile defense program is Slupsk, Poland – Slupsk is 65 miles away from Gdansk, (which we all know) was home of the Solidarity labor movement which helped overturn Poland’s communist system. Complete Story

Under the defense deal, 10 missile interceptors will be placed in underground silos at Redzikowo airfield, on the outskirts of Slupsk. By 2011 to 2013, they will work in conjunction with U.S.-run radar based in the Czech Republic to thwart a potential attack by Iran. In an attempt to quell the Kremlin’s worries, The U.S. Missile Defense Agency says the system cannot be used for an offensive attack without obvious modification of the football-sized field it will occupy.

"The people of Slupsk are more interested than ever in the U.S. election," Mayor Maciej Kobylinski said.

It will be interesting to see how this issue plays out in the future, especially given the weak state of the US economy. In the meantime, one thing is certain - both Poland and the Czech Republic will be watching closely.

Election 2008 - Polish Priorities

Polish News has offered this list of Polish-American priorities for the 2008 election:

- Immigration-law reform enabling Polish immigrants to obtain legal status – permanent residence or US citizenship;

- Ensuring more Federal Government appointments, including cabinet posts, for Polish Americans;

- Vigorous prosecution of anti-Polonism through the creation of a special Polish anti-defamation unit at the US State Department similar to that which now monitors anti-Semitism;

- More student, academic and cultural exchange programs with Poland;

- Increased US military aid for Poland in exchange for its agreement to host parts of the anti-missile shield on Polish territory.

- Increasing business opportunities for Polish companies in the United States;

- Making good on the F-16 offset program, whereby the US pledged to promote investments in Poland in exchange for Poland’s purchase of F-16 jet fighter planes;

- Inclusion of Poland in the visa-waiver program, enabling Poles to visit the US without having to apply for an American visa; the US is now the only NATO country that still discriminates Poles in this way.

I suppose it goes without saying, but the recent actions by Russia have highlighted the need to get the proposed missile defense system in place soon. Now, because of the economy issues facing the USA, it is unclear when and if the proposed missile defense shield will be in place. This is becoming a big issue in Poland, and I will be blogging about it tomorrow.

Mourning the Loss of Some Great Folks

As you are aware, I spent Tuesday flying with Trooper 1 (one of 12 helicopters run by the Maryland State Police) I am very saddened to report that early today the Trooper 2 helicopter, based out of Andrews Airforce Base crashed in the line of duty.
The troopers that I flew with were outstanding and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of the Maryland State Police today.

Medevac helicopter crash kills 4 in Md.
DC State Wire
Published: Today
FORESTVILLE, Md. (AP) — A medevac helicopter taking accident victims to a trauma center crashed in suburban Washington early Sunday, killing four of the five people aboard, authorities said.

The accident killed two police officers on board the Maryland State Police craft, one of them the pilot. Also killed were an Emergency Medical Services staffer and one of the accident victims, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department.

A second accident victim survived the crash, which happened near Andrews Air Force Base.

The helicopter was sent to the scene of a traffic accident in the Waldorf area about 11 p.m. Saturday and picked up two patients and a rescue squad member for transport to Prince George's Hospital Center, according to a press release from the Maryland State Police.

As it returned to its base, the helicopter disappeared from radar and officials lost radio contact with the craft, known as Trooper 2. The crew had radioed in just before midnight that it needed to land due to weather conditions, according to the release. After an intensive search, public safety officials found the downed helicopter about 2 a.m. on a trail in a wooded area of Walker Mill Regional Park in Forestville.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

The Maryland State Police Aviation Command, which includes the medevac program, flies 12 twin-engine helicopters out of eight bases across the state.

Sunday's crash marked the first fatalities in the command since 1986 when a helicopter crashed in fog in West Baltimore, killing two troopers who had just transported a shooting victim. The command saw two other fatal helicopter crashes in the 1970s.

A recent state legislative audit revealed that about a third of the medevac helicopters were out of service for 51 days during the past fiscal year. The audit also faulted the police agency for failing to document maintenance needs and costs and failing to comply with federal and manufacturer repair orders.

Nine of the choppers are more than 18 years old.

But state police have defended the unit. And the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Audits also noted that the operation is highly regarded throughout the nation and has an "impeccable" safety record.

State lawmakers are likely to face major budget cuts in the coming months that could threaten a three-year plan to replace the helicopters.

In the last legislative session, lawmakers struggled to carve out money to upgrade the fleet or buy new helicopters. The fiscal year 2009 budget has about $33 million for the fleet. About $110 million is planned over the next four years.

Napierdalać Się - Election 2008 Debate 1

Ah, Poland made it into last nights debate!

Senator Obama:
"It is absolutely important that we have a unified alliance and that we explain to the Russians that you cannot be a 21st-century superpower, or power, and act like a 20th-century dictatorship.

And we also have to affirm all the fledgling democracies in that region, you know, the Estonians, the Lithuanians, the Latvians, the Poles, the Czechs, that we are, in fact, going to be supportive and in solidarity with them in their efforts"

Yet on July 16, 2007 when Obama met with Polish President Lech Kaczynski - Obama made the following comments Link Here:

“Not long ago, we looked to Poland as a country that needed American help in its own efforts to be free and secure; now we look to Poland as a critical partner in building a safer, freer world." and

"“Poland has been a steadfast champion of liberty in the countries to its east. America and Poland should stand together to help Ukraine build a strong and stable democracy, and to help the people of Belarus regain their human rights." and

“Since joining NATO in 1997, Poland has become one of America’s most important strategic partners, dedicating troops and resources to our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

So why, then, did Obama refer to a Poland as a 'fledgling democracy' during the first presidential debate. Let's review the definition of 'fledgling' -
–noun
1. a young bird just fledged.
2. an inexperienced person.
–adjective
3. young or inexperienced

It seems odd to say that Poland is a critical partner and that Poland should help Ukraine build a strong and stable democracy, and then call them inexperienced in the next breath. Perhaps this was a misstatement by the 'fledgling Senator'.