[Normy]

"Jean-Luc Picard" used to say something similar to his colleagues when the Enterprise got into a particularly bad situation. When I flew 727's and 747's as Captain Normy, I did the same thing when I checked the flight plan that company dispatch had sent me, and wasn't sure that everything was correct and legal. If it didn't make sense, the first thing I would do was hand it to my first officer and ask him "does this make sense to you".

Sad: I only did that a few times, and each time the FO told me, and I quote: "Well, you know, I really don't know the [company/FAA regulations] well enough"

Great. I already have two autopilots. I guess I have a third~

Anyway, when I fly if a strange question comes up in an emergency situation, I like to ask my colleagues their thoughts. On the few times [16] that I have declared an official "emergency" to ATC, none of them have really had any input. But they didn't need to, I made the obvious call, and this situation has never come up.

But HERE...is a different situation and the the column from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel is a bit different. Now I want YOU people to think about...a racist. Should he have a government job? Should the goverment be able to fire him for his political beliefs?


-This one is a bit perplexing to me. I can see both sides of the argument, and really, I don't know what to think.

In advance, I want you to know that I find the group in question utterly disgusting, and simply mentioning this group, and even this man's occupation....kind of makes me queasy. At the same time, after reading this article [from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel], I have to say that the censorship of thoughts or ideas is the ultimate destruction of freedom. As soon as the first thought or idea is censored, all freedom is lost.


N!

The story: GAINESVILLE, Florida -- A prison guard who acknowledged being a member of white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan has been fired for belonging to a subversive or terrorist organization, a violation of the county agency's code of ethics.

Wayne Kerschner, an Alachua County Sheriff's Office corrections officer, was fired Tuesday following a 10-month internal investigation.

The investigation revealed that Kerschner applied online for membership to the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan a year ago, paid $30 a month for access to a members-only Klan Web site and that the group did a thorough background check that included his credit history before allowing him to join.

The Klan has "extremely high standards," Kerschner told investigators, according to an administrative investigation report released Thursday. "They do a complete criminal background check on everybody."

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office didn't return a phone call Thursday, and Kerschner's telephone number was not listed.

During the internal probe, Kerschner told investigators the Klan never asked him for information about the jail or the Sheriff's Office and that he never let his membership interfere with his job. He said he would never get involved with anything criminal and wouldn't ever jeopardize the sheriff's office. He said he viewed the Klan as a religious or political organization.

"I don't let it interfere with my job," he said, according to the report. "I don't let it interfere with my personal judgment call on anything like that. I mean, I think I am a pretty dang fair officer."

Kerschner told authorities that he blogged regularly on a KKK Web site, attended two rallies in Tennessee and was an officer of the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He said his wife was also a dues-paying member.

Kerschner gave some details into how he was inducted into the Klan in a process called "naturalization." He said he was blindfolded during the ceremony and was touched on the shoulder with a sword after taking an oath. He said he was on probation for a month before he could have full access to the Klan Web site, which offered information on Klan handshakes and the different colors available for Klan robes.

Kerschner told investigators he was sorry for getting involved with the Klan.

"If I could erase time, I would," he said.