Editor:
On July 1, the Airport2Park people held a barbecueat Santa Monica Airport at the Airport Park adjacent to the soccer field and dog park. Many of these people believe that barbecuingreleases deadly carcinogens into their food and in the air, causing damage to themselves and their children. They're also the same people that subscribe to the "Chicken Little" syndrome that the exhaust from aircraft will turn their little precious into a mutant from a "Mad Max" movie. This presents a "Do as I say, not as I do" dogma with them.
When one tries to hold an intelligent conversation on the benefits of keeping the airport open, one ismet with fascist rhetoric being berated by them while frothing at the mouth with a severe case of rabies as if one was the airport anti-Christ or acting as the crazed villagers wielding torches from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, pursuing the monster.
Joe Schmitz, who was selected by the Santa Monica City Council out of many other qualified candidates whocurrently have an aviation background or are active pilots that were never given the chance at the position on the Airport Commission, is anti-airport and a member of the Airport2Park group.
With this committee, nothing has changed since the other three airport commissioners are anti-airport. The basis of an airport commission is to keep the airport open, support aviation in general while keeping businesses open and jobs there. Here, they are totally against everything what they are supposed to stand for and want the airport closed. In these turbulent times, this does not make sense to eliminate commerce and jobs adding to the financial woes of our city, let alone our country.
That being said, the anti-airport people would deny our president and his Secret Service the use of the Santa Monica Airport, which he and Hillary recently visited, but more than likely voted for him and support Hillary. Why would you do this?
The Santa Monica City Council claims to be progressive, fair and democratic ... in some ways. The ethical choice would have been to have two pro-airport and two anti-airport appointees on the commission, yet the councilhas decided to load the dice in itsfavor. This is collusion and corruption at its highest level, making the Bell fiasco look like a Sunday school picnic.
At the July 4th parade on Main Street, there was a noticeable absence of the salute to the men and women from the military, the true heroes of who, for the past 239 years sacrificed themselves protect our freedoms for this country. Instead, we have past and current mayors as well as council members showboating over the Grand Marshal and Special Olympics Global Messenger, Will Montgomery. Neitherthe mayors nor the City Council members have ever served in the military.
The icing on the cake, though, was the banner on Kevin McKeown's electric car that read, "Flying to Washington D.C. to meet with the FAA." How are you going to get there, Mr. McKeown — flap your arms? You'll probably fly in a 737 out of LAX, which produces more engine power, noise and exhaust than a Learjet or Gulfstream out of Santa Monica Airport.
You'll fly out of runway 2-5 West over some populated areas as well as the ocean; a similar route that is used by the aircraft at SMO.
On return, you'll arrive on 2-5 East over several populated zones in the Los Angeles area, let alone the United States, with the same engine power, noise and exhaust from the jet engines.
The nihilist teachings of Thracymacus and the Hippocratic oath fit well at home here in Santa Monica.
Whitney Scott Bain
Santa Monica
