I have been in Dayton OH this week, attending a class on Environmental Management Systems Auditing. The class is a good fit for my new career in IG, and even better given that it ties into my “save the world/save the species” mentality.
Dayton is of course home to the Wright Brothers, who, in the back of their bicycle shop at the turn of the 20th century, taught themselves how to fly. In 1903 they shipped their biplane to Kitty Hawk and took to the air. In 1948, Wright Patterson Air Force base opened up in, and today is home to numerous educational, research, and operational Air Force units. It is also home to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, which is a Smithsonian caliber aviation museum dedicated to the history of U.S. military aviation. This town is national center for aviation history, and I wish I had more time to explore this week.
Ohio is also of course a crucial state in politics, long labeled a “Swing State.” No Republican has EVER won the Presidency without winning Ohio. This week the continued fallout from the worst election cycle of the last 40 years rocked the city of Dayton. Wright State University, scheduled to hold the first of three Presidential debates, back out. The public university originally had planned for a budget of around $3 million. With increased security costs forecast due to the polarized campaigns on both sides, the budget had ballooned to $8 million. Falling short of contributions, the school had no choice. The impact on the local area is immense. I heard one story today of a hotel owner who had completed a press room and pair of specialized suites for visiting media, costing tens of thousands. None of that will be used now. Hofstra, a private university on Long Island, will now serve as the debate location.
In a year where the cost of education helped galvanize a new Democratic platform, there is an irony in a smallish public school that costs a relatively low $8730 per year in tuition losing such a high profile event to a school that charges their undergrads over $41,000 per year.
Of course the RNC in Cleveland continues tonight, but I am barely watching. After several nights of little sleep I will likely be snoring by the time Trump takes the stage, and will have to settle for highlights tomorrow morning. I have heard enough, however, to make my final decision as to who I WON’T vote for in November. Believe it or not the last straw didn’t occur until this week. In an interview with the New York Times, Trump basically stated he would be willing to turn our back on our NATO allies that have helped maintain the balance of power for decades. If a call came for help, invoking Article 5, he would not respond unless the country had fulfilled their obligations to the U.S. Sorry, that is not how a strategic military alliance works. I am willing to grant that many of our citizens don’t have a firm grasp on what NATO is. I encourage you to browse their home page and get to know the Alliance. http://www.nato.int/
Compared to the Middle East, we as a civilian population paid far to little attention to the Ukraine, and the struggle between the pro-west and pro-Russian forces there. In the post Russian invasion era, we have seen the region go back to targeted killings, vanishing people, and hard line intervention on behalf of Mother Russia. Guess who has years of advising in the area, and ties to pro-Russian business, politicians, and possibly Russian mafia? This guy, your campaign manager to Donald Trump.