Massive Theft Feared At Reagan Library
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If there are two things that really stuck in the late President Ronald Reagan's craw, it was weak security and government inefficiency. So there's an extra sting to the Los Angeles Times' report that both seem to have descended on his presidential library with a vengeance.
A recent audit by the National Archives inspector general found that the Reagan library in Simi Valley, Calif. was unable to properly account for more than 80,000 Reagan mementos out of its collection of some 100,000 such items, and "may have experienced loss or pilferage the scope of which will likely never be known." The report described a "near universal" security breakdown at the library.
Inspector General Paul Brachfeld said his office was investigating allegations that a former employee stole Reagan memorabilia but that the probe had been hampered by sloppy record-keeping.
"We have been told by sources that a person who had access capability removed holdings," Brachfeld told the Times. "But we can't lock in as to what those may be."
The hilltop complex is the most visited of the nation's 12 presidential libraries, and includes the Air Force One that served as the "Flying White House" for seven presidents.
It is also supposed to include a large collection of ornamented Western belt buckles given to the president over the years by admirers who knew of his attachment to his ranch - but nobody's quite sure if it's still there or not.
The library has accepted the audit's criticisms and is working to fix the problems. A National Archives spokeswoman said that part of the problem is that presidential libraries did not have the same strict preservation guidelines used by most museums, and that funding was an issue.
"Our resources are spread pretty thin," she said.
Well, come to think of it, maybe Reagan wouldn't have minded this state of affairs. He did oppose big government, after all.
Clinton In A "Dead Heat" With Giuliani In Poll
Most Americans want nothing to do with anything remotely Bush-related - including those presidential candidates who share his party - but they're not so sure they're ready for another Clinton, either, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that, by a 50 percent to 35 percent margin, Americans prefer that a Democrat gets elected to the presidency next November. But offsetting that demand for change are reservations about Hillary Clinton's truthfulness and ideology, even as Americans applaud her leadership qualities.
The result: Clinton is in a dead heat with leading Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani when the two are matched up.
Smelling blood, perhaps, Giuliani has been taking an aggressive stance with his in-state rival lately. While promoting his anti-terror credentials with tough talk on Iran, the former major slammed Clinton for displaying "the worst of the Clinton years" by equivocating in the debate on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
"If you think a question about driver's licenses is a tough question, a gotcha question," he told a New Hampshire town hall meeting a few days ago. "You're not ready for [Iranian leader Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad."
Pilots Can (And Do!) Fly Planes While Sleeping
Next time you're nestling your balled jacket up against the airplane window, trying to block out the engine's roar so you can get some shut-eye, you might also want to block out this: USA Today reports that passengers aren't the only ones drifting off to dreamland on flights. Pilots sometimes do too.
The paper reports that hundreds of pilots, mechanics and air-traffic controllers reported that fatigue led them to make mistakes on the job, including six cases in which pilots fell asleep mid-flight.
In once case, a pilot and co-pilot fell asleep while descending toward Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., NASA records say. And Frontier Airlines acknowledged Wednesday that two of its pilots fell asleep on a 2004 flight from Baltimore to Denver. One pilot awoke to "frantic calls" from a controller, according to NASA reports.
None of the incidents caused an accident.
The National Transportation Safety Board will address the issue of fatigue today at its annual hearing to adopt its "most wanted" safety enhancements.
May we suggest cockpit alarm clocks?
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