The View From the Outback© 2000 Richard C. Rhodes
A great deal of what we read in newspapers, magazines, and books, and what we see in the movies and on TV is written and produced in New York City or Los Angeles. Much of the "political wisdom" comes from the PR machines of the White House, the Congress, and from the Washington media corps. In short, one might conclude that all knowledge, wisdom, and wit are confined to those who inhabit New York City, Washington DC, or Hollywood. I am now a senior citizen, in my 7th decade. My experience was gained in many cities in the U.S. and in about 30 foreign countries. That experience has included the U.S. Marines, law school, the ATF, the CIA, Fortune 500 executive, writer, public speaker, educator, editor, and publisher - for openers. Some insights come from talking with ham-radio operators in every major country and such idyllic places as the Cook Islands. For over 20 years, I have written articles off and on for various magazines and newspapers. I've had an enormous number of letters published in major national publications. The Outback is the rural area in Northeast Texas where I have lived for the past 15 years. Since most visits to my pages come from searches, I am no longer trying to keep on a regular schedule for updating the Outback. Click on a Topic to go directly to that topic. May 25, 2006: For a long time, I have been getting e-mails from Computer Associates about software deals and so on. I thought it was because I use their EZ Anti-virus program. When I clicked on the link to "unsubscribe," there was a link to find out how I got on their mailing list. The answer: Microsoft Protect Your PC Program. I must have made the mistake of registering for something on the Microsoft site. Thanks, Microsoft for respecting my privacy by selling or giving away my e-mail address to Computer Associates. May 24, 2006: Over the years, I have often chided my grandchildren because every time I walk into their house one of the other is playing a video game. My reflexes are remarkable for someone my age. But, as I researched dementia, senility, and so forth, I came to the conclusion that playing video games might help keep my brain firing on most of its cylinders. Yesterday, I bought a Sony PS2 and one shooting game. Just reading the manual and getting it set up was all I could handle at the first sitting. A new study found that surgeons who warmed up by playing video games for 20 minutes immediately before doing surgical drills were faster and made fewer errors than those who did not. Maybe I am on the right track. I asked the lady who sold me the PS2 how many of them she had sold to 74-year-olds. "You're the only one I can think of." I have never played video games my computer, other than Pinball and Solitaire. I still build my own computers. Now, the brave new world of the PS2. Just in time to see if it interests me enough to buy a PS3 when it comes out. May 20, 2006: President Bush has been talking a lot lately about the need for immigrants to learn English. The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., that would declare English the national language. Where the hell have these people been for the last 20-30 years? I implore you to read my passionate first-person article on "English Only" in the July 1, 1988 Dallas Times Herald, which appears on my main Web page (www.home.earthlink.net/~rickhgtx/top.htm) under Letters-To-The-Editor. The article was inspired by looking at the McDonald's menu in San Antonio - which listed a "Quarter Pounder con Queso." I wrote a similar article for a San Antonio newspaper at that time. May 19, 2006: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has agreed to re-examine Amazon.com Inc.'s patent on "one-click" for online shopping. I like this feature, and have used it dozens of times. But, there is something wrong with our patent system when you can get a patent on a Web feature where your billing and shipping information is stored and you can order items with just one mouse click. Was there a patent issued for the telephone "speed-dial?" I hope not. Millions of computer functions over the years have been automated with "macro files." I presume that concept was not issued a patent. You can make a call to anyone on your cell-phone Contact List by "one-click." Surely, that was not patented. If so, it was a mistake. There should be a more clear distinction in patent law between actually "inventing a new widget or concept" and improving on or modifying an existing one. One of the most egregious patent travesties that comes to mind was when Prozac's once-a-day pill patent was about to expire. They were granted a new patent for a once-a-week Prozac SR pill. To me, saying that Amazon's "one-click" was patentable in the first place is ludicrous and dilutes the very concept of patent law.May 12, 2006: In Outbak9.htm for Aug. 25, 2005, I wrote and article: "Shuttle Discovery Returns - But Not Without Glitches." In that long article I said: "I adore and admire Eileen Collins. I hope she leaves NASA for some other life. I hate to see her associated with a gang that can't shoot straight. At a minimum, she probably will not be asked to fly another space mission. She has done four, twice as pilot. They need to get some of the other nearly 100 astronauts into the act." Astronaut Eileen Collins has now retired from NASA. I wish her all the best. And, I won't have to sit up all night while shuttle landing after landing is waved off and worry myself sick wondering if Eileen and her crew would get down safely. In that same Outback, I also wrote: "NASA Female Astronauts - And Worn-Out Shuttles," in which I heaped more praise on Eileen Collins. I talked briefly a couple of times via ham-radio to Shannon Lucid when she was on the Russian space station MIR. But the way Eileen Collins calmly prepared for and flew the first shuttle mission after the Columbia shuttle disaster made a huge impression on me. May 11, 2006: In the jumble of articles and assessments of what needs to be done to get CIA moving again in the right direction, one thing that requires serious attention is the matter of the type of "cover" CIA covert agents have overseas. Nearly everyone agrees that there are too many CIA agents posing as "diplomats" in our embassies. The Russian KGB used to do it, too. This has one nice feature; you have diplomatic immunity if you get caught with your hand in the other country's cookie jar. But, everyone with any sense knows who all the CIA agents are in any given embassy. I can recall two postings overseas where I was under the cover of another U.S. government agency. But, our compounds stood out, either because of high fences - or even a vault door on one place. Time and time again, some low-level person in the official community - or even a local civilian native - would say to me: "Oh, you work in the spook building." Might as well have had a CIA tattoo.
I never had diplomatic cover. I remember one delicate solo bugging assignment in Europe where I was bluntly told, "If you get caught, you are on your own." Some of my associates spent several years in jail because of this charming policy. Unofficial cover is hard to set up and maintain, but it is imperative for some clandestine assignments. It is so much easier - and safer - just to hide behind diplomatic cover in an embassy. By the way, bleeding hearts, way back when, we were not allowed to pose as members of The Peace Corps or as journalists, among others. I assume that there is still some sensitivity about cover assignments. May 11, 2006: The liberal media and many Democratic politicians have already begun their efforts to undermine and obfuscate the nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to become the director of the CIA. They are harping on the fact that Gen. Hayden, when head of NSA, ran the "domestic spying program." Please read my article in the Outback for Jan. 14, 2006 (outbak15.htm) entitled "NSA Intercepts Completely Politicized - Facts Don't Count." And in the Outback for April 1, 2006 (outbak18.htm) "NSA Wiretap Controversy Based on Few Facts." We now read that NSA has been collecting databases, from AT&T and others, of calls (presumably both landline and cell) made by callers within the United States. The databases contain only the date/time and number called, but the allegation is that "tens-of-millions" of such records have been compiled by NSA from a willing telecom industry - without a warrant. If so, this will be a boon to those who have decried the "NSA domestic spying program." The allegations may be true. I just find it hard to believe that if phone records on such a grand scale have been collected since just after 9/11/2001, that someone has not leaked this information before December of 2005, when an article in The New York Times substantially "outed" the program. In order to collect this many records from AT&T, Verizon, and Bell South, many people - who are not normally entrusted with "secret information" - would have to be involved at these carriers. It is also interesting, that after all the years the collection has alleged to have taken place, it is exposed with great fanfare just as Gen. Michael Hayden is being named to take over CIA. I personally don't care if NSA has my phone records. They are for sale on the Internet, for heaven's sake. Especially since we have noticed that there has not been a terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11. Tracking phone calls and Internet use are essential parts of trying to keep one step ahead of the terrorists.
Many are expressing concern that a military man will head the CIA, since then the CIA, National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency would all be under the leadership of a military man. It seemed to me that the simple solution is for Gen. Hayden to retire from the Air Force. The man is 61. Then, I got around to reading my "source of record," the WSJ. They noted that Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said: "Nevertheless, to send a signal of independence from the Pentagon, General Hayden may want to consider retiring from the Air Force." It's nice to know that somebody of substance agrees with me. My guess is that Gen. Hayden may hand in his stars before the Senate confirmation hearing starts. He will have his hands full defending the bogus charges about "his" domestic spying program - possibly to the extent that he will not have time to tell the Senators how he would run the CIA. How he plans to change its mission. In deference to my blood pressure and the threat of a stroke, I should probably not watch the Hayden confirmation hearing. But, I will not be able to resist - if for no other reason than to watch the Democrats on the committee make complete asses of themselves. Gen. Hayden is one sharp dude. I conducted electronic intercepts in the U.S. as a Federal agent and overseas as a CIA agent, worked in the cable-installation division of the telephone company during college summers - and have watched many hours of Congressional testimony on the NSA program. I think I understand the problem better than most of the Ivy-league, thumb-sucking, media types or Democrats trying to make trouble for the Bush administration - without regard for our national security. Remember, only about 11 people in Congress have been briefed on the NSA program. A lot of the furor is just politics. Part of it is hurt feelings for being left out of the loop. In the Agency, we used to talk about the "power of secret knowing." Sometimes you got more satisfaction from knowing secrets than you did from a pay raise. Well, almost. May 8, 2006: I have written two article in the Outback about "Bomb Iran? Are You Crazy?" British Prime Minister Tony Blair is quoted as saying that any consideration of a nuclear attack against Iran is "absolutely absurd." Jack Straw, the former foreign secretary, said U.S. plans for a tactical nuclear strike against Iran were "completely nuts." So, there you have it: crazy, absurd, and nuts. Any questions? May 7, 2006: What media bias? From The Washington Post today (Markos Moulitsas): "Moving into 2008, Republicans will be fighting to shake off the legacy of the Bush years: the jobless recovery, the foreign misadventures, the nightmarish fiscal mismanagement, the Katrina mess, unimaginable corruption and an imperial presidency with little regard for the Constitution or the rule of law." This was balanced with the good news: "Just as we crazy political junkies glimpsed the viability of the candidacy of an obscure governor from a small New England state three years ago, today we regard Hillary Clinton's candidacy as anything but inevitable. Her obstacles are big, and from this vantage point, possibly insurmountable." God, I hope so. If she is elected, sharpen up your pencil and look in the thesaurus for some more invectives. You will need them to describe a Hillary-Clinton presidency. May 7, 2006: Congressman Patrick Kennedy is in drug rehab. Hillary Clinton is the apparent front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. There is talk about Jeb Bush running for President. We need a Constitutional Amendment, entitled "The Political Nepotism Amendment." It will state that no more members of the Clinton, Bush, or Kennedy families are allowed to run for any public office. And in the future, no two members of any family, from any generation, by blood or marriage, can run for public office. Do you mean to tell the American people that the only people qualified for high public office are from the Bush, Clinton, or Kennedy families? That is the way it appears. A case could be made that based on the family track records, choosing a future candidate from any of the three clans would be a disservice to America. Thumb through the C-SPAN Congressional Directory and you will find a few widows of former members, sons of famous politicians, nephews of famous politicians, the wife of an ex-Senate Majority Leader, the wife of an ex-President, and on and on. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D. La.) seems like a competent and effective senator. Her brother, Mitch Landrieu, may become the Mayor of New Orleans. He is currently Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. Is it a good idea to have a brother and sister as a U.S. Senator from Louisiana and either Lt. Governor or Mayor of New Orleans? Just as the question has been asked many times, "Is it a good idea for a President to have a brother who is Governor of a key state?" The New Orleans election has a lot more drama than just a white guy versus a black guy. Mitch Landrieu's father, Moon Landrieu, was the last white Mayor of New Orleans. The Landrieu family has past connections with the Morial clan. Ernest N. Morial was the first black Mayor of New Orleans. Later, his son, Marc H. Morial became Mayor. His administration was riddled with scandal. Marc Morial is now president of the National Urban League, with headquarters in New York City. The Morial political organization has endorsed Mitch Landrieu for Mayor. I became especially aware of Marc Morial when I saw him give a speech. He appeared to be what I call "partly black," a group that fascinates me in how they present themselves and the causes and groups with which they become associated. I have a rather large file on the Morial clan. Marc's dad, Ernest Morial, was Creole, which takes some time to explain fully. I hope to do that in a later article. Another Creole is New Orleans native Byrant C. Gumbel of TV fame. Gumbel has a bio on frenchcreoles.com, for example. So, there you have somewhat of a benchmark, until I can finish my next installment on people who are "partly black" and mostly refer to themselves as "African-Americans." This is not a prejudice or a bias, only an interesting look at the sociology of "partly-black" people in our society. I have written about it at length in the past. May 6, 2006: For decades, I have sporadically read the ingredient lists on things I buy at the grocery store. I never buy anything with enriched flour, sugar as one of the first-listed ingredients, a high content of partially-hydrogenated oil (trans-fat), and so on. A series on dietary supplements on ABC News got me to thinking anew. I picked a can of Diet Sunkist orange-flavored drink out of the fridge. The ingredients are listed in light silver lettering on a sort of dark-silver can. This is a good way to shield the ingredients from casual view. Casual view? I spent at least 30 minutes with a magnifying glass to discover the following ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Malic Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Aspartame, Modified Food Starch, (Acesulfame Potassium Sunett (R) Brand, A Non-Nutritive Sweetener), Natural Flavors, Caffeine, Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin, Yellow 6, Red 40, Phenylketonurics: contains Phenylalanine. I leave to you to do a Web search on the ingredients. Fascinating. Many are found in a wide variety of processed edible products. Regardless of any potential health consequences, I will not buy more Diet Sunkist. Just reading the label has caused me to lose my taste for the beverage. I will eat more Oranges. May 6, 2006: Porter Goss is out at the CIA. Word is that among other things, he got crossways with John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Now they say that Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon and Negroponte are feuding over who controls what in the intelligence community. The Pentagon controls about 80 percent of the intelligence budget. But, by statute, Negroponte is in charge - and he is not shy about letting you know it. There were many who warned that the creation of the DNI would just introduce another level of bureaucracy. Here's a thought. Get rid of both Rumsfeld and Negroponte and find some competent people with normal egos. Oh, I guess that is an oxymoron in Washington. The creation of Homeland Security Department and the DNI were major efforts to streamline our homeland-security and intelligence efforts. How's that working out? Watch C-SPAN instead of "Survivor," "CSI Miami," and "American Idol." You might learn something. For instance, that the FBI is now on about their third attempt to get a computer system that will be useful, and that the target for completion is four years from now! About nine years after 9/11. In 2005, Mueller pulled the plug on an FBI case-file system that had already cost $170 million, but was nearly useless. No private company could survive being run like that. During recent testimony, the FBI Director, Robert Mueller, looked really tired - and lacked the spark and enthusiasm I had seen in previous years. My guess is that many nights he questions why he took the job in the first place. He seems like a really intelligent and competent director. But, these top jobs take their toll. It would not surprise me if Mueller went back to practicing law sometime soon. Look at pictures of President Bush five years ago and now - and he takes a lot of vacation time. Porter Goss said that he was "overwhelmed" by his responsibilities at CIA. He no longer has that burden. May 6, 2006: A Reuters New Agency story, appearing among other place in The Washington Times, lets you know that politically correctness is not limited to the United States. Some feminists in France are trying to get rid of the term "Mademoiselle" (Miss) as it singles out (pardon the pun) your marital status. In Germany, calling a woman "Fraulein" today is nearly an insult. As a man, how are you supposed to know who to hit on if all the world adopts "Ms"? When you see a photo in a news story of an attractive "Ms." so and so on TV, should you call her or not? You may end up facing an angry husband. Kudos to those few media outlets who still use "Miss" or "Mrs." You can't tell the players without a scorecard. When I lived in Europe, I loved the way "Mademoiselle" or "Fraulein" rolled off the tongue - often in a flirtatious way. Also interesting was the statement in the article that almost 50 percent of children born in France are born to unmarried couples. Hollywood and David Letterman take note. Quit making fun of the French. You are kindred spirits. May 5, 2006: For lack of something better to do, I thought I might buy a new electric razor to replace my old Norelco. After over an hour of searching the Norelco Web site and various user reviews, I was completely confused. There are just too many models to choose from, and nobody can seem to agree on which one is best for the money. So, I brushed out the whiskers in my old Norelco, put a drop of gun oil on the blades, and put it on charge. Note to Norelco: You have too many models! Just like GM. One TV show pointed out that the only difference between a certain GM and Chevy pickup was some sheet metal on the front and the logo. They suggested you play the GM and Chevy dealers off against each other for price, since they sell basically the same vehicles. Check and see how many Toyota truck models there are. Very interesting. We have lost sight of the alleged remark of Henry Ford about the Model T, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." This was true for the Model T in the years 1915 to 1925. Earlier models were available in several colors. The switch to making only black cars may have been due to Ford's streamlining of the assembly line. May 3, 2006: Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison. Many, if not most, were shocked that he did not receive the death penalty. On April 18, 2006 I said in part in the Outback: "My suggestion is that Moussaoui be given life in prison and allowed to mingle freely with the other prisoners, especially in the exercise yard. That would placate the anti-death-penalty folks. The prisoners would make their own judgement about Moussaoui's fate. My best guess is that the prisoners would save the government a lot of long-term care costs. A win-win for justice." Moussaoui will serve his time in the federal pen in Florence, Colorado, also known as a "SuperMax." Typically, such prisons keep the prisoners in lock-down for 23 hours a day. There is no mingling of the prisoners. The prison guest list at Florence is impressive, from the Unabomber, to Terry Nichols (Okla. City bombing), Richard Reid ("shoe bomber"), to Ramzi Yousef (1993 World Trade Center bombing), to name only a few. All of this isolation seems inhumane. The prisoners should be allowed to spend an hour a day together in an exercise yard - and socialize. Then, you could start an office pool on how long Moussaoui, Reid, and Yousef, to name a few, would remain alive. Even Eric Rudolph, who bombed abortion clinics, might want to shove a shiv into one or more of the "guests." Come on warden, loosen up. Let the prisoners get to know each other. We need to get an office pool started. May 2, 2006: As I watched the throngs of illegal immigrants parading in the streets, my old instincts as a Federal agent and intelligence agent kicked in. "Hot damn," I thought. "Look at all the illegals that we now have on film for the FBI, Immigration, et al., to run down and deport." Smooth move, or is it Muy Suave? A clerk in a store had a simple observation. "What they don't buy on Monday they will be back to buy on Tuesday, in addition to what they had planned to buy on Tuesday." I did feel sorry for people who were in the process of getting new shingles on their roof - if it rained on Monday. A while back, I got a new roof. The Mexicans and their Gringo boss finished in one day! I was so impressed with their hard work that I gave them lunch money. But, I had to push the rotating magnet that picks up stray nails from when the old shingles were ripped off. We were one Mexican short. So, I worked for free. Who said Americans won't take these jobs?
May 1, 2006: I fear that the "Seinfeld Curse" will strike again, that is, all the shows featuring ex-Seinfeld stars have tanked. "The Adventures of Old Christine" on CBS is drivel, with a supporting cast of no-talent actors. What a formula for success. Be merciful. Pull the plug before someone's career is damaged beyond repair. Maybe it's already too late. As much as I love Jenna Elfman, it is very hard to watch "Courting Alex." The plots are as thin as a new Gillette razor and the dufus who plays Jenna's boyfriend is one of the worst pieces of casting in many years. Two Boy Scouts couldn't get any sparks out of them if they rubbed them together for 24 hours. The CBS.com site says that "COURTING ALEX will return to the schedule at a later date." How about 2008? With Jenna, new plot lines, and a whole new cast of supporting actors. She will be eternally sorry that she accepted this gig. May 1, 2006: If you missed the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on C-SPAN, you might try to find a rerun. C-SPAN ran some speeches from previous dinners. The one by Laura Bush will never be topped. Unless you compare it with the current side-by-side presentation of President Bush and his look-and-sound-alike impersonator, Steve Bridges. That probably truly will never be topped. C-SPAN did a mini "red-carpet" and showed some of the guests are they were arriving. Valerie Plame (of who outed CIA agent Plame? fame) and her husband Joe whatsizname were there. It is uncanny how much Valerie Plame looks like Sharon Stone. If I were called out of retirement and asked to work undercover with either Sharon Stone or Valerie Plame, I would go with Valerie for the under-the-cover assignment. Greta Van Susteren was there, dressed in a tuxedo with pants. I never cared for her anyway - shrill, obnoxious, and just plain mean looking. Because she was wearing the "lesbian uniform," I presume she is one. It did not help dispel any doubt when her companion was an attractive black woman. Greta could not have looked more butch if she had borrowed some medals from Gen. Pace. Not that I am anti lesbian, per se. I just like ones that are attractive and with some feminine traits - so that I can fantasize about having an intimate relation, like with Portia De Rossi, Ellen Degeneres, or the defector, Anne Heche. I will never forget the sight of Portia De Rossi, then playing a lawyer on "Ally" McBeal, standing in her office in just a red bra and panties. What a sad day when I discovered that she was Ellen's new girl friend. You have to give Ellen credit. She has exquisite taste in women. Portia had come out earlier, but I don't follow the star gossip. (A quick Web surf turned up Portia in the Red bra and panties. Red. I said I would never forget. Now, if I could just find my cell phone.) Virtually nobody could have followed the act of the Bush Twins - George and Steve. Stephen Colbert, of Comedy Central, tried. He seemed unsure of himself, and although he got off some pretty mean and on-target zingers, I grade his overall performance as pathetic. I like Stephen on Comedy Central. He is used to playing to a camera and a small group, not 2700 heavy hitters in Washington. I read that Anna Kournakova was in attendance, but I did not see her on the red carpet. They showed Henry Kissinger, Helen Thomas, and Madeleine Albright, but no Anna. That says something about who C-SPAN thinks their demographic is - old geezers who have nothing better to do than watch Congressional hearings. What they fail to take into account are horny old geezers who watch Congressional hearings. April 28, 2006: A friend was telling me about how he gets cell-phone service for a very few dollars a month from a state program for low-income people. He said that I could not get the deal because I was rich. Here in the Outback, you are considered to be rich if all of the doors on your pickup are the same color. Bomb Iran? Are You Crazy? Part IIIn the Outback for March 12, 2006 (outbak17.htm), I suggested that talk of the U.S. bombing the nuclear facilities in Iran was sheer idiocy. If someone feels compelled to do it, let Israel do it. The threats from Iran to Israel and the United States continue to be vociferous, as are comments aimed at Iran from our side. I had said that I hoped we would spend more time working with the youth or Iran to bring about a democratic revolution (like the good old days when the CIA could bring about such events - for better or worse). Recently, the Bush administration asked Congress for a further $75 million this year to promote democratic change in Iran, including $50 million for a Farsi-language television station. What a pathetic response by our government. We wasted more money than that on unused mobile homes for Katrina victims. The son of the deposed Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, has recently stepped up his call for Iran's fractious opposition groups to unite against the Islamic regime. He said that the message from the frustrated student activists inside Iran is "put up or shut up." Reza Pahlavi, whose followers consider him to be the Shah of Iran, graduated from an American university - U.S.C. - and was trained as a jet-fighter pilot by the U.S. Air Force in Lubbock, Texas. He has lived in the United States since 1984. His Web site is interesting and informative (www.rezapahlavi.org). His grandfather was Shah before his father was Shah, so Reza would be Shah #3 if he were to return to govern Iran. An American friend of mine, who served as a consultant in the security services for the Shah (Reza's father), said that there was a report of thousands of students last year at a soccer game shouting in Farsi the word for "3." - over and over. It had nothing to do with the score. They wanted Reza Pahlavi (Shah #3) to come back and take over the government. So, would it be the same old monarchy of the past? On June 18, 2005, Reza Pahlavi was interviewed by the French newspaper Le Monde. One of the questions was: "Are you in favor of a Restoration of monarchy?" Pahlavi's response was: "The word Restoration has a negative connotation. Iranians must be able to freely choose their future. My mission will end the day we will get to free elections. From that day, I will be ready to serve my country. I am not preoccupied with my own personal future." In another interview, Pahlavi said: "A military option would ultimately rally nationalistic sentiments which would work to the regime's advantage, consequently giving the theocrats a much longer lease on life." My American friend and I had a long talk the other day about his time in Iran, his precipitous departure, and his later involvement with teaching in America - with many Iranians as his students. When he was working with the security forces in Iran, he had shown them some magazine articles written by me in an American professional security magazine. He had also noted my broad experience as a Federal agent, intelligence agent - and practitioner of the arts of lockpicking and bugging. He wrote me a letter and said that the "boys" would like for me to come to Tehran (Teheran) for a visit and a sit-down. I didn't have good vibes about what was going on in Iran and never took up the invitation. During that same period of time, I was doing some security consulting for Dresser Industries of Dallas, who had interests in energy production in Iran. During a conversation, my contact suggested that one day soon I should fly on one of their private-jet flights to Tehran and scope out what could be done to harden their facilities against attack. Never got around to it. Somebody was watching over me. My other tenuous connection to Tehran was via the man who hired me in the CIA's Technical Operations Division. He had at one time been stationed in Tehran and spoke about what a basically nice place it was "in the old days." He became a clandestine technical legend in that part of the world. On a trip we took to South America, he introduced himself to a group of CIA station officers just by his initials. They said, "Are you that "X.X.?" His reputation seemed to have spread. Anyway, I never made it to Tehran, not via CIA, or the Shah's security folks, or on a Dresser Industries jet. I am sure I missed out on a really interesting time. But, I am still alive to reminisce about what might have happened. Those were turbulent times in Iran. In my recent conversation with my American friend who served in the Shah's government, he said he got out about one month before the Shah was deposed. There was concern, even then, that the flight he was taking might be shot down. He swears to me that this huge airliner flew so low as it left the Tehran area that it knocked TV antennas off of roofs. The pilot was trying to make a very tough and fast-moving target for a possible shoulder-fired ground-to-air missile. What a great story. I have interesting friends. Southwestern Bell, SBC, AT&T - Cingular, AT&T Wireless - Make Up Your MindMay 16, 2006: When AT&T completes its acquisition of BellSouth, it will own outright the Cingular cellular network. The word is that AT&T plans to change the name of Cingular to "AT&T Wireless." That is about the dumbest thing I have heard of recently in the corporate naming sweepstakes. As a former customer of Southwestern Bell, which became SBC, which then became AT&T - and also a Cingular customer - I am fed up with all this senseless renaming. I hope you are, too. The change from Southwestern Bell to SBC took a bit of getting used to, but SBC had a simplicity to it that grew on us. But when SBC bought AT&T (and there was precious little left of the once-great AT&T empire) we were upset that SBC was renamed AT&T. Somehow, management at SBC thought that AT&T had more gravitas, more name recognition. Well, I have news for them, belatedly. AT&T was broken up over 24 years ago. You have to middle aged or older to remember what AT&T was all about, that it was a giant telephone service and equipment monopoly. That it was much maligned, much in the same way that Microsoft is today. How many young folks even remember what the letters stood for? American Telephone & Telegraph Company. About all many of us could remember of AT&T in recent years was that they had some cell phone service, that they sold, and that they got fined for slamming, i.e., illegally changing people over to AT&T's long-distance service. So the geniuses at SBC wanted to go back to a name that had no meaning for the younger generation and had the word "Telegraph" in it? Even Western Union shut down its telegraph service. And who could remember where the & went? Was it AT&T or A&TT? In a recent letter to the CEO of AT&T, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., I actually typed A&TT by mistake. I called it a Freudian typing error. You have to say or think of the whole American Telephone and Telegraph thing in order to make sure how to write the initials. It is not intuitive. Can you think of many major companies that have an "&" in their name, other than Johnson & Johnson or Black & Decker, or Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.? Can you think of any with just letters separated by an "&"? In the entire list of the Standard and Poor's list of 500 top companies, I found only one other, PG&E (note that none of the letters are repeated as in AT&T). PG&E rings a bell as Pacific Gas & Electric. That makes sense. They are out near the Pacific, and they provide gas and electric service. They have the same Web URL problem as AT&T, www.pge.com (can't use the & in a URL). I had some experience with another AT&T/A&TT. It was A&TTD, the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax Division, U.S. Treasury. That always got messed up when written or spoken. It was later changed to the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) and commonly became known as ATF. Even our otherwise muddled-headed government mostly avoids letters joined by an "&." CIA, FBI, NSA, DOD, FAA, FCC, FDIC, FEC, GSA, IRS, and SBA, for openers. Some have an implied "and," but are not written with it; SEC, FDA, and so on. It costs millions or billions to rebrand a corporation. And maybe $1-2 billion more for advertising to get public name recognition. AT&T spent $1 billion to introduce the combination of SBC and AT&T. When it came down to crunch time, they had to basically apologize for the atrophied AT&T by saying that it had "the solid backing of SBC." Can you imagine the fees that were spent to change AT&T to at&t and to change the blue stripes on the globe? And the media still writes AT&T instead of at&t (looks kind of puny). Even their Web URL is www.att.com, since you cannot have an "&" in a URL. If you type www.at&t.com, you get a server error. You have to use a search engine to find AT&T's Web site. And then you are more likely to find a link to www.sbc.com than to www.att.com. And www.sbc.com takes you to: http://att.sbc.com/gen/landing-pages?pid=3308&phase=check. Good thinking, guys. Plan ahead. That's why you make the big bucks. Oh, it should come as no surprise that if you type: wwww.cingular.com, you are taken to the Cingular Web page. Amazing. It is said that it cost $4 billion dollars to build the Cingular brand name. Now, the misguided soles at AT&T want to throw away the Cingular name recognition, the neat color scheme, the cute orange logo, et al., to change Cingular to "AT&T Wireless." In my letter to Mr. Whitacre, I said that it was simply crazy. For example, look at all the other cellular carrier's names: Verizon, Alltel, Sprint, T-Mobile and so on. All are simpler and easier to roll off the tongue than "AT&T Wireless." And what will the Web address for AT&T Wireless be, www.attwire.com, or some other stupid URL? Today, if you do a Google search for "AT&T Wireless," the first two results are www.cingular.com. Who would have guessed? All roads seem to lead to Cingular. Let's screw that up royally. We have poor Cingular coverage out here in the country, even seven (7) miles from the Cingular tower. I mentioned to a friend of mine who runs a service business that AT&T (formerly SBC) was thinking of changing the name of Cingular to AT&T Wireless, at a cost of billions of dollars. She gets no Cingular signal at her shop or home, nor do any of her customers. Her response was: "Why don't they take all that money and put up more Cingular towers?" Much too practical. I also told Mr. Whitacre that SBC customers were still "pissed" that he changed SBC to AT&T. To refresh for those who were not paying attention 24-40 years ago. AT&T was a much-maligned monopoly. It has the word "Telegraph" (as in telegraph key) as part of its name. So, let's spend billions to change a perfectly good SBC name to AT&T and a nifty Cingular name to AT&T Wireless. It makes you wonder why those who sit around the table at AT&T corporate headquarters make such huge salaries. You and I could have made those dumb mistakes for a lot less money. If you are a former SBC customer and/or now a Cingular customer, and would like to tell Mr. Whitacre at AT&T what you think of all the name changes, please write him. It is not too late to save the Cingular name if enough customers voice their concerns. If I were CEO of AT&T, I would put a poll up on the Cingular Web site. "Do you want us to keep the Cingular name or change it to AT&T Wireless?" I know the outcome in advance. Edward E. Whitacre Jr., CEO You might also drop a note to the CEO of Cingular: Stanley T. Sigman, CEO 866 246-4852 Update May 23, 2006: I neglected to mention that when we first got cell phones here in the Outback, the company was called Southwestern Bell Wireless. They put up a tower on the ranch of a friend of mine, and sat in the Quick Stop with a clipboard taking orders. Of course, the phones were the old heavy analog models, but pretty exciting for the Outback. Then SW Bell Wireless became Cingular Wireless, commonly known simply as Cingular. The corporate musical chairs continues. Diamond Shamrock gas stations will be named VALERO. Valero has its HQ in San Antonio. Is there something in the water there that makes people want to change business names? Here in North Texas, you used to be able to get electricity and gas (in city limits) from TU Electric. That became TXU Corporation in about the year 2000. Then, TXU sold off its natural-gas interests to ATMOS Energy. Somewhere along the way, TXU became known as TXU Energy, which now sold only electricity. Then deregulation came to energy in Texas and there are several players. Here in the rural area, we are part of an electric Co-op, and have no idea who supplies them with electricity. Whoever it is, the power will go off in broad daylight for a minute - to 75 minutes one day recently. I compare it to power in the Third World. I have UPS battery backups on my desktop computers, on my TV, and on my Digital Video Recorder. I have a deep-discharge marine battery, several AC inverters, a hand-held color TV, an AM/FM radio with a crank to charge the battery, and a 12 Volt camping lantern. When the power went off for over an hour recently, my UPS supply on the main computer ran the Satellite Internet modem and Wi-Fi router. So, I was able to surf the net and check e-mail with both my laptop and my Wi-Fi enabled Palm TX. Such is life in the Outback, only 90 miles from Dallas. I'm pretty close to buying a gasoline-powered generator. Once again, I digress. Update May 26, 2006: A large number of protestors are complaining about AT&T's apparent willingness to provide access to the U.S. intelligence community to one or more of the AT&T phone central offices to spy on phone and Internet traffic. The media has picked up on the protests with glee. There is also the issue of calling attention to how big and potentially mini-monopolist AT&T will become once it owns all of Cingular. Maybe this adverse publicity will tip the balance for the "Knights of The Round Table" at AT&T in San Antonio who want to change the name of Cingular to AT&T Wireless. Cingular would be smart to distance itself as much as possible from AT&T - for a variety of reasons. Gen. Hayden's CIA Confirmation HearingMay 21, 2006 I recorded the Senate confirmation hearing for Gen. Michael Hayden to become CIA Director. As expected, a majority of the questions related to the NSA intercepts of communications suspected of having connections to terrorist activities. It was the same set of questions over and over, since Gen. Hayden was formerly director of NSA. Rightfully so, Gen. Hayden deferred many of his answers to a later "closed session." But he said for the twentieth time that the program authorized by the President had the legal stamp of lawyers at the Justice Department, the White House counsel's office, and three lawyers at NSA whose judgment the General trusted implicitly. In the past, when asked other legal questions about proposed intercept actions, these NSA lawyers had advised him against such action. So, for all the talk of impeaching the President for "a criminal violation," Gen. Hayden in my opinion convinced most of the Senators on the Intelligence Committee that the NSA intercept program was lawful. I am sure he made his point more forcefully in closed session. As usual, the "chief whiner" was Sen. Ron Wyden, D. Ore., who several times questioned the veracity of the General by playing off one version of a public statement with another made in another context, and so on. In my experience, there are a lot of obnoxious, arrogant, and irritating Jews in the East, particularly in New York City. Sen. Wyden gives even whining NY Jews a bad name. NY Jews, don't write me. You know you are obnoxious. It's part of your charm and effectiveness. Wyden was the only one on the Senate panel whom I thought was really irritating the General with his persistent complaining about not being briefed on the NSA program and other failures of "the administration" to be forthcoming with the Congress. And his personal attacks on the General's character and integrity. The NSA intercept program in question is so highly compartmented that only a few at NSA know what it is all about. As I suggested earlier, part of the problem with Senators and people in the House who were not briefed was that their egos got bruised because they were left out of loop. The New York Times headline captured that sentiment with: "Senators Left Out of Loop Make Their Pique Known." The practice of briefing only certain members of Congress in leadership roles on super-sensitive covert CIA, NSA, etc, programs was to cut down on the chances for leaks. It has been followed by every administration since that of Harry Truman! Partisan politics is a vicious business, where even national security is compromised by leaks that will damage the incumbent president and administration. And a newspaper that reports vital national secrets is awarded a Pulitzer Prize. How pathetic. Gen. Hayden has promised more inclusion in his briefings to the Congress and the Intel committees in particular. We'll see how that openness works out. There were a couple of points of contention that I did not see get much coverage in the mainstream media. Much was made before and during the hearing that questioned the chain-of-command for a four-star General serving as CIA director. Under the new setup, CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) former Ambassador John Negroponte. Sen. Hatch cut to the chase. "There are two messages waiting for you. They're marked at exactly the same time, these two messages. One is from Ambassador Negroponte and the other is from Secretary Rumsfeld (Pentagon). Whose call are you going to return first?" Gen. Hayden smiled broadly and said: "I work for the Ambassador, so I'll return his call." As they say on "Family Feud," Good answer! Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D. Ca., again raised the question about the Gen. being a military man at a civilian agency. By the way, the more I see of her, the more I like Sen. Feinstein's largely fair approach - especially in contrast with such rabid senators as Ron Wyden. Gen. Hayden's answer about being military and wearing a uniform was heartfelt and completely disarming. Gen. Hayden: "The concern that, uh, my being in uniform affects my thinking .... The fact that I have to decide what tie to put on in the morning doesn't change who I am - One. Two, chain-of-command issue. I'm not now in the chain-of-command (to the Pentagon). I won't be in the chain-of-command there (at CIA). I'm responding to Ambassador John Negroponte (the DNI). Third, more important. How does my being an active-duty military officer affect my relationship with the CIA workforce? .... Can I bond, and can they bond with me? .... If I find that this (the uniform) gets in the way of that, I'll make the right decision." Sen. Feinstein again brought up the role of the fourth Amendment with regard to searches and seizures - in connection with the NSA intercept program. Having "probable cause" and needing a warrant. I have addressed this at length in earlier Outbacks. But, regarding the Fourth Amendment - one more time, dear. The language is ".... secure in their persons, houses, persons, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause..." The Fourth Amendment does not say that every search and seizure must be based upon a warrant based on probable cause. If that were the intention, it would have been easy to say and "every search and seizure must be under a warrant which is supported by probable cause." In trying to support her thesis that the NSA program required a warrant (FISA court, presumably), Sen. Feinstein made reference to the panel of former FISA judges who testified at a hearing by the Judiciary committee. She misrepresented what they said, probably out of faulty memory or lack of legal insight - not out of malice. I saw that hearing, took careful notes, and reported on it elsewhere in the Outback. C-SPAN has changed the ballgame. We see and hear the same people as those at the hearings, and we have Digital Video Recorders. The DVR's memory is never faulty - absent a hard-drive crash. Years ago, I wrote a letter-to-the-editor for the Dallas Morning News when cameras in the Senate were being proposed. Basically, I said that I did not want to see how Senate Sausage was made. I was right. Time after time, it makes me sick to my stomach. But, I apparently am a masochist. I keep coming back for more punishment. Sen. DeWine, R. OH, made the point that the CIA needs to have more unofficial cover and stop relying so heavily on CIA agents being posted in our embassies under diplomatic cover. I made that point on May 11 in this posting of the Outback. Gen. Hayden agreed with the senator. Someone brought up that were still 28 separate computer networks in the intelligence community. I had noted earlier that the FBI scrapped a computer update that had already cost $170 million and was starting over with a new contract. Gen. Hayden was at NSA for years. They have the most sophisticated computers in government. If anyone can try to get the intel community talking a common computer language, Gen. Hayden ought to be that guy. Sen. Russ Feingold, D. Wisc., is perhaps the most vociferous opponent of the "warrantless" NSA intercept program. He thinks it is illegal. He thinks the President ought to be impeached over authorizing the program. You can imagine his line of questioning to Gen. Hayden. Again, it was sad that so much of the hearing was taken up with criticizing the President and Gen. Hayden for the decision to implement the NSA intercept program, that precious little conversation was centered on what Gen. Hayden will do to "get the CIA on course." What comments along those lines he was allowed to make were thoughtful and insightful. The man has 20 years of intelligence experience - covering a wide variety of assignments. I said earlier in this Outback that "Gen. Hayden is one sharp dude." I have to amend that. He is one brilliant dude. Even when they kept harping and harping at him (over 6-7 hours of testimony) about the warrantless NSA intercept program, the senators never laid a glove on him. Well, except for maybe a few low blows by Wyden and Feingold. Gen. Hayden will surely be voted favorably out of the Intelligence Committee, perhaps with greater bipartisan support that the pundits predicted. It will be interesting when the nomination gets to the Senate floor how many senators will still debate the NSA program, the General's allegiance (or lack thereof) to the Pentagon, and other such matters that were beaten to death during the Intelligence Committee hearing and in the media. Some of the discussion will be out of ignorance, because the senators did not watch or read a transcript of the open part of the hearing of the Intel committee. Some of the byplay will simply be political posturing to try, and I say try, to make the American public believe that the NSA warrantless intercept program, which is closely targeted at terrorists, is somehow the product of a "rogue administration" and an "imperial President." Give it a rest. I'll take a wild guess. Gen. Hayden confirmed by a vote of 75-23, with a couple of members out sick. The Democrats are hopeful about taking back control of the House and Senate and electing a Democratic president. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how the Republican "minority" questions witnesses, judicial nominees, and presidential appointees to high posts. Will they be as shrill, vindictive, rude, insulting, and impugn the character and integrity of those before them as now is the case with senators like Wyden, Feingold, Ted Kennedy, Schumer, Boxer, et al.? Is it possible that Republicans are as mean-spirited as Democrats? Or will Republicans just lash out in retribution for all the crap they have had to listen to from Democrats for the past few years? The President's approval rating is around 31% at this writing. One of the Senators on the panel questioning Gen. Hayden said that the approval rating for Congress was even lower than that of the President. Do these pea-brains who argue like children in school yard, see every issue these days as a struggle between Republican and Democratic principles, instead of what is good for the country, really wonder why their ratings are so low? The following are only observations that came to mind as I watched the Democrats "interrogate" Gen. Hayden. I make no judgement. At my last count, there were 11 Jewish senators. The Senate Intelligence Committee has about 15 members. Of those, four are Jews, Feingold, Wyden, Levin, and Feinstein. All are Democrats. Just interesting. Don't know what it means, if anything. The 11 Jewish Senators are: Specter (R), Coleman (R), Levin (D), Feinstein (D), Feingold (D), Kohl (D), Wyden (D), Boxer (D), Schumer (D), and Lautenberg (D). Two women, Feinstein and Boxer, are both Democrats from California. In the House, with a membership of 435 members, there are only about 24 Jewish members. The only Jewish Republican in the House is Eric Cantor, from Virginia. Talk about being the Lone Ranger. There is a message here to Republicans. Recruit more Jewish people for House and Senate seats. But, I digress. Update May 23, 2006: The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12-3 to send the nomination of Gen. Hayden to the full Senate. If you watched the hearing, or read my comments above, it should come as no surprise that Sen. Wyden (the whiner) and Sen. Feingold voted against the nomination. I don't recall what problem Sen. Evan Bayh had with the nomination, but he also voted in the negative. All three holdouts are Democrats. Update May 26, 2006: In the above article, I said: "I'll take a wild guess. Gen. Hayden confirmed by a vote of 75-23, with a couple of members out sick." The actual vote was 78-15. So seven (7) senators were either ill or could not take the time to vote. What threw off my calculated guess was that it was a Friday vote, so some senators may have thought it more important to fly home than cast a vote for one of the most important posts in the U.S. government. They are not accustomed to working a 5-day week. You have to chuckle at our vaunted media. A REUTERS report on the Hayden confirmation said in part: "The 78-15 vote to confirm Hayden included the support of several Senate Democrats." Since there are 55 Republican senators, 44 Democratic senators, and one Independent, one might conclude that with a vote of 78-15, some Democrats supported the nomination. I guess that sentence was for those who can not even name the two senators from their own state. Each state has two? No matter what their size or population? How did that happen? Here are the senators who voted against the nominatin of Gen. Hayden: Bayh (D-IN) Here are the seven senators who did not vote on the nomination: Boxer (D-CA) Return to the List of TopicsCOPYRIGHT 2000 Richard C. Rhodes You are welcome to quote sections from this page - or the whole page, as long as the source URL is included. Of course, I would be flattered if anyone linked to this page. It is very hard to be the writer, editor, fact checker, copy editor, and publisher of anything. So, I beg your forgiveness for the many mistakes that creep in. Suggested Reading From Past Columns Click Here for Suggested Reading List Archive of Back Issues Media List of Addresses and e-mails Postal Service State Abbreviations, etc. Postal Service Abbreviations - Richard C. Rhodes End |