NEWS - Loose lips sink budgets

The Navy has suspended flight operations on the USS John F. Kennedy. Everything I've heard about the ship makes me think it's in comparatively poor shape, and Congress basically demanded that the Navy not mothball the ship as the Navy had wanted, so all that said, their willingness to take this step is not totally unexpected.

I was hesitant to comment on this story, since I'm not an expert on the military. Also, I'm not sure the Navy isn't trying to circumvent orders of the civilian government it's supposed to obey, although with Senator Warner's bill to reduce the carrier fleet to 11 ships, the law and therefore their orders may soon change on this matter.

In any event, I was struck by the tone of Rep. Ander Crenshaw's comments on the radio, echoed in other press coverage. He sounded petulant when he insisted the Navy repair the ship. I detected no concern for the sailors' well-being. I heard no concern that repairs he was demanding might not be the best way for the Navy to spend the taxpayers' money. In several stories I've read and heard on the subject, neither he nor Florida's Senators Nelson and Martinez seem to have made any acknowledgement that circumstances may have changed and their decision should be reconsidered. Crenshaw came across on the radio and in printed quotes sounding like a spoiled brat whose toy was taken away. He seems to feel he earned us this pork and wants to keep it, and safety of our sailors, military needs of the country as a whole, and any consideration of possibly better uses for the money are all secondary concerns to him.

One more example of Congress at its worst. The sad thing is, by keeping a ship for the local benefit at the expense of national defense, he'll spin it as a good deed come re-election time.